Highly-anticipated Mets bullpen plan we never got to see in action can be revisited

You remember the 2024 New York Mets season fondly. Even the 2022 team is somewhat fresh in our minds. It was a true sign this organization could be competitive. As for the 2023 Mets, it feels more like an uncooked broccoli patty between two slices of artisanal bread.

We didn’t get close to the results we wanted in 2023. Not all of the blame goes on the planning aspect. The injury to Edwin Diaz in the WBC sent shockwaves through the fanbase. It erased a chance of seeing a highly-anticipated bullpen plan.

Diaz would close but before him we’d see David Robertson. Signed by the Mets in 2023 to a one-year deal worth $10 million, the club has an opportunity to revisit him (maybe even on a similar deal). He has opted out of his half of a $7 million mutual option for the 2025 season.

Should the Mets bring back David Robertson?

Reunions are usually over-romanticized. Dear 1990s, just because you put Meg Ryan in it doesn’t mean it’ll be a box office success. The same applies when bringing back a successful player from the past.

When former Mets become available, the nostalgia bubble arrives way too often. Robertson is a different kind of reunion. Not even a full season with the Mets, but an incredibly successful one in an upgraded role to the closer spot, a return for him is less about reliving glory days and more about building a sensible bullpen.

Robertson probably isn’t looking for a pay cut. Earning $10 million in each of his last two seasons, the 39-year-old has other things to consider. Signing with the Texas Rangers last year might have had as much to do with going to a competitive team as it did falling geographically closer to his sweet home, Alabama. Let’s hope geography isn’t much of a factor. Otherwise he’s Atlanta Braves bound with a 99% percent portion of his contract going to their foundation.

Last year with the Rangers, Robertson pitched 72 innings and struck out 99 batters all with a 3.00 ERA. The innings were the most of his career in any single season.

A wide open bullpen in Queens, players of Robertson’s caliber are necessary to add. David Stearns had a tendency to look for high-upside guys on a lower cost last offseason. Most failed pretty miserably. It’s not a sound strategy.

We never got to see what the Mets bullpen could look like with Robertson in the eighth and Diaz in the ninth. Two full seasons later, it remains an intriguing option.