3 morbid Mets offseason scenarios to keep you up tonight

3) The bullpen goes mostly ignored with offseason additions

Fans haven’t really discussed much about the bullpen options and for good reason. Who the heck knows what any of those guys will do? The class includes some of the best closers of the modern era. Many of them are practically 40-years-old if not already there. Signing an experienced closer and turning him into a setup man for Edwin Diaz makes sense, but those guys generally cost the closer rate without the role attached.

David Stearns did a lousy job last offseason building the Mets bullpen. It’s okay. They overcame it with some trade deadline additions and deeper outings by the starters later in the year. This scenario might not cause you to check under the bed for monsters. You should though. This gripe we’re all bound to have with the Mets at some point in 2025 could completely eliminate the joy we’d have seeing Soto and a new ace on the roster. A two-homer game from Soto. Seven shutout innings by Burnes. Here comes a guy with a 5.00 ERA to pitch the eighth inning because the rest of the bullpen has been taxed.

Successfully building up the relief corps can take some creativity. The trouble here is there isn’t any obvious right or wrong answer. You don’t pay Tanner Scott $15 million per year to be the setup man. Do you invite Kenley Jansen over for a ride with the intention of moving him into the eighth inning?

Bullpens are difficult to build and all we can ask is that we don’t get another offseason of Jorge Lopez, Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, and Shintaro Fujinami. A stud in free agency and maybe a sneaky addition via trade can help us rest our heads comfortably at night.