Mets 2015 World Series roster: Where are they now?

Although pitching was a key success to the Mets’ regular-season success, they faltered during the World Series.

Pitchers:

Tyler Clippard

Clippard was a mid-season acquisition from the Oakland Athletics in late July during the 2015 season. In 32 games with the Mets that season, he had a 3.02 earned run average while saving two games. Clippard did not perform well in the postseason, giving up five earned runs in just 6.2 innings pitched. He would take the loss in Game 4 of the World Series.

After his short stint with the Mets, Clippard would make stops with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, White Sox, Astros, Blue Jays, Indians, and Twins over the next five seasons. He recently signed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks with a mutual option for 2022. Clippard is the only active player to have played for 10 different franchises over his career.

Bartolo Colon

Big Sexy was the Opening Day starter for the Mets in 2015 and led the rotation with 194.2 innings pitched, although he did have a 4.16 earned run average during the regular season. Although normally a starter, Colon was used out of the bullpen during the postseason. He appeared in seven games during the postseason including three World Series games. Colon would end up taking the loss in Game 1 of the series against the Royals.

After becoming an All-Star with the Mets in 2016, Colon would struggle in the next two seasons with the Braves, Twins, and Rangers. Over the two-season span, he had a 6.13 earned run average and gave up 60 home runs. Although he was unable to sign with a major-league team during 2019, Colon entered the Mexican League in 2020. Even though the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, Colon still plans on pitching in the league for the 2021 season at age 47.

Jacob deGrom

After taking home the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2014, deGrom continued his big league success in 2015. He went 14-8 with a 2.54 earned run average and 205 strikeouts over 191 innings pitched and earned his first All-Star appearance. deGrom was masterful in the first two rounds of the postseason, winning all three games he started. However, deGrom faltered in the World Series as he gave up four earned runs in five innings during Game 2.

The tough result of the World Series fueled deGrom into becoming a more elite pitcher, and that has clearly been shown on the diamond. Since 2016, deGrom ranks in the Top-3 for strikeouts (3rd), ERA (2nd), ERA+ (3rd), and WAR (3rd). He became the 11th pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award in back-to-back seasons when he did so in 2018 and 2019. He is undoubtedly the best bitcher in baseball right now and looks to get the Mets back to the World Series in 2021.

Jeurys Familia

After a solid full rookie season in 2014, Familia moved into the closer role in 2015 after Jenrry Mejia was suspended early in the season. Familia shined in his new role, saving 43 games with a 1.85 earned run average over 76 appearances. He would play a substantial role in the outcome of all three series. Familia saved five games across the first two series while not allowing a run. However, he would falter in the World Series, blowing three saves in Games 1, 4, and 5.

Familia bounced back from the rough World Series outings in the 2016 season, finishing with 51 saves and breaking the Mets single-season record in the process. Familia would again falter in the postseason, giving up a winning 3-run home run in the NL Wild Card game against the Giants. After being traded to the Oakland Athletics in the middle of the 2018 season, Familia came back to the Mets on a three-year deal that expires after this season.

Sean Gilmartin

Gilmartin was drafted by the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft from the Minnesota Twins in 2014. He made his major-league debut during the 2015 season and would pitch extremely well throughout the season. The left-handed rookie had a 2.67 earned run average in 50 appearances, which included an October start. He would be rarely used in the postseason, only making a single appearance in Game 2 of the World Series, where he retired both batters he faced.

Gilmartin’s rookie success would not continue as he bounced between the Mets, Cardinals, Orioles, and Rays over the next five seasons. During that span, he had a 6.09 earned run average in just 31 major-league games, while pitching in over 100 minor-league games. Gilmartin has yet to be signed this off-season and remains a free agent.

Matt Harvey

Matt Harvey, who has no relation to me although I have a brother named Matt, was coming off Tommy John surgery entering the 2015 season. This did not prevent him from having another successful season in which he struck out 191 batters and a 2.71 earned run average in 29 starts. Harvey won both of his postseason starts in the NLDS and NLCS, yet finished with no-decisions in both of his World Series starts.

This included his memorable Game 5 start where he wanted to finish the game, which ended up being very costly and eventually resulted in the Royals clinching the series that night. Harvey was never the same after that, dealing with injuries and a team suspension. From 2016 to 2020, he spent time with the Mets, Reds, Angels, Athletics, and Royals, in which he had a 5.82 earned run average and an ERA+ of just 72. Harvey will get another shot this season to prove he can be of service to a major-league time, signing a minor league deal with the Orioles just a few weeks ago.

Steven Matz

Matz gave Mets fans one of the most memorable debuts in recent history in late June of the 2015 season, in which he gave up two runs in 7.2 innings pitched while also having three hits and driving in four runs.  He would finish the season 4-0 with a 2.27 earned run average, which earned him a spot on the postseason roster.

Matz would start one time in each postseason series, including Game 4 of the World Series. He finished the postseason with an 0-1 record and a 3.68 earned run average. After five more seasons with the Mets, Matz was traded this off-season to the Toronto Blue Jays after he struggled mightily in the shortened 2020 season.

Jonathon Niese

Entering his eighth season with the Mets, Niese provided a solid 176.2 innings with a 4.13 earned run during the 2015 season. Like Colon, Niese was used out of the bullpen in the postseason instead of his normal starting pitching role. He faced a single batter in the NLDS and a single batter in the NLCS, striking out both of them.

Niese then appeared in four different World Series games, giving up three earned runs in just 4.2 innings pitched. The Mets would trade him to the Pirates in the offseason for Neil Walker, only for him to be traded back in August of 2016. The next three seasons for Niese would involve bouncing around in the minors between the Yankees, Rangers, and Mariners organizations. He has not officially retired yet his last appearance in the majors was in 2016.

Addison Reed

Reed was a late-season acquisition from the Diamondbacks during the 2015 season. Over 17 appearances with the Mets in the regular season, he had 17 strikeouts and a 1.17 earned run average. Reed was another reliever who could not replicate his success during the World Series. He pitched in all five games, allowing five runs in just 3.2 innings pitched while earning the loss in Game 5.

Reed had one of the best seasons by a reliever in Mets history during the 2016 season, pitching in 80 games while sporting a 1.97 earned run average. Reed was traded to the Red Sox in the middle of the 2017 season. He then signed a two-year contract with the Twins in 2018, although he was eventually was released in May of 2019. He has not officially retired but has not been signed since being released in 2019.

Hansel Robles

In his rookie season, Robles pitched in 57 games while having a 3.67 earned run average and 61 strikeouts. He appeared once in the NLDS, pitching a perfect inning. After no appearances in the NLCS, Robles didn’t allow a base runner in his two innings of work in the World Series.

Robles would remain with the Mets until he was selected off waivers by the Angels in June of 2018. He would last through the 2020 season in Los Angeles before signing a one-year $2 million contract with the Twins for the 2021 season.

Noah Syndergaard

Thor is the fourth rookie pitcher who was on the Mets 2015 World Series roster, along with Gilmartin, Matz, and Robles. He debuted in May of 2015 and finished with a 9-7 record, 166 strikeouts, and a 3.24 earned run average over 24 starts. Although he took the loss in his start in the NLDS, Syndergaard would win his starts in the NLCS and World Series.

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He threw six innings of three-run ball in Game 3 to earn the only win for the Mets during the entire series. Thor continued his success into 2016 when he was named an All-Star. From 2017 to 2020, he had to deal with multiple injuries, including Tommy John surgery before the 2020 season. Syndergaard is currently on track for a return sometime in June of this season.