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New York Mets were smart to stay away from Trevor Rosenthal

By Leen Amin

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 08: Trevor Rosenthal #47 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Three of the National League Division Series at Globe Life Field on October 08, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 08: Trevor Rosenthal #47 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Three of the National League Division Series at Globe Life Field on October 08, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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New York Mets fans have wanted the organization to focus their attention on relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal for several months now. However, Rosenthal will not be heading to Flushing and is Oakland-bound.

This has upset some fans and has the media wondering why the Mets have now missed out on the likes of J.T. Realmuto, Trevor Bauer, Brad Hand, and now Rosenthal.

While New York’s bullpen is much-improved and currently one of the best in the league, there’s still work to be done. If the Mets hope to make a deep run, they’ll need to add some more arms.

However, Rosenthal wasn’t the answer for the Mets

Rosenthal signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the A’s and, frankly, that’s far too much money.

Rosenthal was excellent in 2020. In 23.2 IP, he recorded a 14.45 K/9, 2.38 BABIP, 82.4 LOB%, 1.90 ERA, 2.22 FIP, 0.8 WAR, 38 SO, 0.85 WHIP, and 2.31 SIERA. His performance with the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres was so great that he became one of the more highly-touted relievers in a strong class.

This is all great, but what about Rosenthal pre-2020?

In seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, and Detroit Tigers, Rosenthal was good but, on the whole, nothing to write home about. It also seems that people are forgetting that Rosenthal was one of the worst relievers in baseball in 2019.

That season, he had an ERA of 13.50, 6.87 FIP,-0.3 WAR, 15.26 BB/9, 41.5 LOB%, 2.41 WHIP, and 8.51 SIERA. These numbers are appalling. It’s actually a little concerning that teams were willing to give him $10 million+ even though he’s less than two seasons removed from the atrocity that was 2019.

Putting 2019 aside, Rosenthal hasn’t been truly excellent since 2015. Since, he’s been inconsistent and underwhelming on several occasions.

Simply put, Rosenthal is not worth $11 million. The Mets have had a successful offseason and likely aren’t (shouldn’t be) done. There are other free agent arms that they can sign who won’t break the bank and can allow them to at least explore options at other positions (i.e. bolstering third base).

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It is unfortunate that they couldn’t get their hands on Rosenthal, but for that much money, they’re better off looking elsewhere.

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