2 crafty NY Mets free agent signings for the bullpen to make, 1 flashier addition to avoid

The New York Mets need some help in the bullpen. Edwin Diaz is lined up to be the team’s closing pitcher. Reed Garrett is penciled in as the team’s set-up man, but they could definitely use some more help in the pen. The Mets had six pitchers toss at least 30 innings without making a start. Three of those pitchers had an ERA over 4.00, and only one was under the age of 30.

But the Mets should be selective about who they bring in. They don’t want to run into another Jeryus Familia situation, and they should be smart with their money after signing the largest contract in pro sports history with Juan Soto. There are definitely some relievers they should go after and some they should avoid, which is what we’ll be looking at today.

The Mets should sign Hoby Milner

The Mets currently only have one left-handed reliever on their depth chart, and that’s Danny Young. But the Milwaukee Brewers non-tendered a lefty bullpen arm that has a lot of potential to rebound in 2025. Hoby Milner’s ERA went from just 1.82 in 2023 to 4.73 the next season. But this is the only thing that has changed over the past two years.

Milner struck out 23.4% of opponents with a 5.2% walk rate in 2023. In 2024, the lefty had a 23.9% K% and an identical 5.2% BB%. His HR/9 went from 0.70 to 0.84. His underlying ERA estimators mostly got better. Milner had a 3.13 FIP, 3.43 SIERA, and 3.66 xFIP in 2023. Meanwhile, in 2024, he saw those improve to a 3.14 FIP, 3.08 SIERA, and 3.15 xFIP.

Milner has always been great at limiting hard contact and inducing ground balls, which did not change between his last two seasons. He held opponents to an 86.6 MPH exit velo, 6.2% barrel rate, and 50.9% ground ball percentage during the 2023 season. Last year, he had an 87.7 MPH exit velo, a 2.7% barrel rate, and 51.9% GB%.

Milner is older, as 2025 will be his age-34 campaign. But he doesn’t rely on overpowering stuff to induce good results. Milner has consistently sat around 88-89 MPH the last three seasons. His arm angle registered in the negatives at -3 degrees. Considering Milner didn’t change much between the last two years, despite his ERA increasing by nearly three whole runs, he’s a great bet to have a strong 2025.