The best thing each of these free agent relievers can bring to the NY Mets staff

The New York Mets recently made their first big free agent addition of the offseason, signing veteran closer Devin Williams to a three-year contract worth $51 million. The Mets were rumored to be putting a focus on adding bullpen reinforcements after the Brandon Nimmo-for-Marcus Semien trade with the Texas Rangers, and it’s likely they won’t stop at just Williams. They’ve been connected to many other free agent relief pitchers, with each one bringing different strengths to the table.

Each reliever that could be on the NY Mets radar brings different strengths to the table.

Edwin Diaz

Since Edwin Diaz made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Seattle Mariners, he has been one of the best relief pitchers when it comes to striking batters out. Since the Mets acquired him prior to the 2019 season, Diaz is one of only three qualified relievers with a K% over 40%, with his 40.5% K% sitting behind just Mason Martin at 42%, and tied with Josh Hader. 2025 was not much different. He struck out 38% of batters while having a 99th percentile, 41.5% whiff rate. 2025 was also one of Diaz’s best seasons overall, with a 1.63 ERA, 2.28 FIP, and 0.87 WHIP over 66.1 innings, which is the second most he has thrown in a single season. Another positive is that Diaz walked just 8.1% of batters, while having an 88.5 MPH exit velocity, and a 4.6% barrel rate.

Robert Suarez

Robert Suarez was rumored to be a potential Diaz alternative. He has steadily improved his ability to locate, chiseling his 11% walk rate from his 2022 rookie season with the San Diego Padres to a career-low 5.9% raet in 2025. The right-hander’s 108 Location+ was a career-high rate and ranked in the top 15 among qualified relievers. Suarez’s bottom line consisted of a 2.97 ERA, 2.88 FIP, and 0.90 WHIP over a career-high 69.2 innings pitched. Along with improving his walk rate, Suarez’s 27.9% strikeout rate is the second-best single-season mark of his career, and his 21.2% was a career-high, ranking top 30 among qualified bullpen hurlers.

Tyler Rogers

No one is better at inducing weak contact like Tyler Rogers. This past season, Rogers’ 85.8 MPH opponent exit velocity was in the top 99th percentile of all pitchers, and his barrel percentage was in the 100th percentile. The only time since his breakout 2021 season he has been below the 95th percentile of either stat was in 2024, when he was still in the 93rd percentile of barrel percentage. Overall, Rogers had one of his best seasons yet, with a 1.98 ERA, 2.88 FIP, and 0.94 WHIP with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. While his ability to induce weak contact is arguably his best strength, don't overlook his other abilities. His 2.3% walk rate was the best among all qualified relievers and the second season in a row he had a sub-3% BB%. 2025 also marked the fifth season in a row Rogers threw at least 70 innings, and has the most IP among any reliever in baseball since '21 by a margin of nearly 40 innings.

Pete Fairbanks

The Tampa Bay Rays’ decision to buy closer Pete Fairbanks out was a puzzling one. Fairbanks has produced some solid numbers with the Rays, with one reason for his success being his ability to avoid the barrel. Since joining the Rays in 2020, Fairbanks has just a 5% barrel rate, which is the 13th lowest of any reliever with at least 200 innings pitched over the last six seasons. In 2025, his 4.8% barrel percentage was in the 93rd percentile, and was among the top 25 lowest barrel rates in baseball. Fairbanks had his healthiest season yet, tallying 60.1 innings while working to the tune of a solid 2.83 ERA, 3.63 FIP, and 1.04 WHIP. The right-hander struck out 24.2% of batters he squared up against, and only walked them at a 7.4% rate. Fairbanks has struck out more batters in the past, but his walk rate was the lowest single-season rate in any year he threw at least 30 innings.