Mets Bullpen: Relievers Robert Gsellman and Sean Reid-Foley competing for one role

Who would have thought a competition in the New York Mets bullpen between Robert Gsellman and Sean Reid-Foley would have any intrigue to it whatsoever? A lot of what I expected from the 2021 Mets hasn’t come true. That’s baseball, Susan.

Through 7.2 innings of work, Gsellman has looked better than vintage. He owns a 2.35 ERA with batters hitting just .185 against him.

Meanwhile, Reid-Foley is pitching even better! In two appearances which spanned five innings, one of the newest additions to the organization this winter has yet to give up a run, earned or otherwise. Batters have just a pair of hits against him for a .125 batting average. SRF has also fanned seven batters through the early going.

The Mets bullpen has had many surprises, Robert Gsellman and Sean Reid-Foley are just two of them

I’m not sure where this skirmish between Gsellman and Reid-Foley ends up going. The return of Seth Lugo puts him at the forefront as the multi-inning reliever we all want to see when the Mets are ahead. This would then push Gsellman and Reid-Foley into the more traditional long-man role, the one each has pitched in thus far.

The Mets could squeeze both of them in, but innings might be hard to come by. There are only so many outings where you need 2+ frames out of a reliever in a blowout win or loss. Because the team does have other options to stretch out at Triple-A in case they need a starter, I’m perfectly okay with both remaining on the Mets in any capacity.

Along with this pair, Miguel Castro appears to have turned into the reliever every team that ever employed him believed he could. It’s still too early to know how good he is. He is absolutely trusted, however.

Perhaps not a surprise to some, Aaron Loup and Trevor May are also getting the job done. The pair of free agent relievers brought in this offseason are getting some of the biggest outs for the Mets.

Then there’s Jeurys Familia who somehow has a 1.29 ERA after his first seven innings. A bit misleading, batters are hitting .250 against him. Familia’s 1.57 WHIP is terrifying and should keep the team on guard before rewarding him with bigger innings.

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I have gotten used to writing about the misery of the Mets bullpen since joining Rising Apple in 2018. It’s strange to have compliments to hand out; the good kind of strange like finding an onion ring in your food when you didn’t order any.