NY Mets: 9 under the radar free agents the Mets should target

Kendall Graveman had a breakout season with the Mariners and Astros this year. The Mets could use his arm.

The righty tossed 56 innings, allowing just 35 hits, 11 earned runs, 20 walks, and striking out 61 batters. His ERA was 1.77, his FIP was 3.19, his WAR was 1.1, and his ERA+ was a whopping 241. He set career highs in K/9 (9.8), LOB% (81.6%), and HR/9 (0.5).

He is another reliever who is primarily a ground ball specialist. 55% of his outs come on the ground. You’ll notice that his FIP is almost double his ERA, that’s because his defenses in Seattle and Houston helped him save runs.

Graveman’s Savant page looks really good. He’s 79th percentile in average exit velocity, 75th percentile in hard hit percentage, 69th percentile in xwOBA and xERA, 67th percentile in xBA, 88th percentile in xSLG, 86th percentile in barrel percentage, 77th percentile in strikeout percentage, and 68th percentile in chase rate. He is a master of avoiding hard contact and getting swings and misses out of the zone.

Graveman is a two-pitch pitcher. He has a fastball that sits in the high 90’s that he uses 72% of the time. Then he goes to a wipeout slider in the high 80’s as his swing-and-miss pitch. He has a changeup and curveball, but he basically doesn’t need or use them.

Graveman doesn’t have any options. He’s another guy who has some experience being a closer (he had 10 saves for Seattle in the first half), but on the Mets, he’d be another 7th or 8th inning setup guy.