NY Mets could use these four under the radar relief pitchers

Mets Reliever Target: Sean Doolittle

A name that most Mets fans should already be familiar with, Sean Doolittle originally began his career as a member of the Oakland Athletics before spending the last 4 years trying to terrorize the team as a member of the Washington Nationals.

A two time All-Star and at various points, one of the most dangerous left-handed relief pitchers in baseball, Doolittle is currently on the free agent market, coming off of an off-year with the Nats.

Appearing in 11 games in the COVID shortened 2020 season, Doolittle amassed a 5.87 ERA over 7.2 innings, and at 34 years old, is likely looking for a short term deal for him to join a team and rebound.

While his performance in 2020 may cause some fans to doubt his ability going forward, it is worth pointing out that this could have been due to a lack of a proper offseason, and this small sample size of 7.2 innings shouldn’t discount what has otherwise been a very consistent career.

A former closer with the A’s and Nationals, Doolittle holds a 3.07 ERA over a 9 year career, and has recorded 111 saves over that time, being trusted with the ball to reliably finish off games time and time again.

While I am not suggesting he be brought in as the team’s next closer, that experience could be very useful for the Mets, and if he regains some semblance of his old form, he’d be an asset to the bullpen.

As stated earlier, having a good left-handed reliever for the Mets will be critical, especially playing in the same division as the likes of Freddy Freeman, Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, and Doolittle could be a great candidate to come in and help fill that role.

The Mets could very likely be able to bring him in on a one year deal at low cost, equating to a low risk situation for them, and the move would help to fill what is one of the team’s largest remaining holes.