NY Mets need to be careful about repeating a familiar mistake with Huascar Brazoban

Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. But there’s no reason for New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns to not remember the errors of recent seasons.

Through 42 games of the 2026 season, the Mets are at risk of doing to reliever Huascar Brazobán what they did to Reed Garrett over the last two years: dooming him to overuse and injury.

Through May 12, 2024, Garrett had appeared in 14 of the Mets’ 39 games and racked up 21 innings in those appearances. Of his 14 outings, seven of them were for multiple innings.

By the end of the year, Garrett had established himself as one of the Mets’ best relievers and led all true relievers (i.e., not counting spot starters José Buttó and Adrian Houser) in innings pitched (57.1).

The following year, the Mets continued to use Garrett early in the season – and often. Eventually, the bill came due on the frequent taxation of the reliever’s right arm, and a diagnosis of elbow inflammation in August preceded eventual Tommy John surgery in October.

Huascar Brazobán's stats look eerily similar to Reed Garrett's

Are the Mets making the same mistake with Brazobán in 2026? Signs, unfortunately, point to yes. The similarities between the former’s 2024 season with the latter’s 2025 season are uncanny.

Like with Garrett two years ago, the Mets used Brazobán for many multiple-inning outings early in 2025. Through May 12, 2025 (the Mets’ first 42 games), Brazobán had tallied 25 innings in 19 outings – seven of his 19 appearances were for multiple innings.

By the end of 2025, even after a midseason demotion to Triple-A Syracuse, the Dominican reliever led all Mets relievers not named Edwin Díaz in innings pitched (63.0). Eighteen of Brazobán’s 52 appearances were across multiple innings.

This year, the Mets have leaned on Brazobán early and often. Outside of converted starters Tobias Myers and Sean Manaea, no Mets reliever has thrown more innings than the former Miami Marlin’s 21.0. In 42 total Mets games through May 13, Brazobán has appeared in 18 of them and pitched across multiple innings eight times. He's even become New York's go-to "opener" ahead of David Peterson in recent weeks.

It makes sense for a manager to have his “guys” in the bullpen. Brazobán has been remarkably effective in his outings so far this year, and his ability to give the Mets more than three outs is invaluable. He’s become the de facto clean-up guy in the bullpen, getting through situations with inherited runners and often locking down another inning of work.

But at some point, the Mets have to hold themselves back from overworking another reliever. Garrett was one of manager Carlos Mendoza’s “guys” for much of the last two seasons given his aptitude for pitching multiple innings out of the ‘pen. The end result of Garrett’s frequent work for two straight seasons? A date with a surgeon and a lost season.

David Stearns, Carlos Mendoza share fault for Huascar Brazobán's heavy workload

In fairness to Mendoza, the blame should not land squarely on his shoulders. A big part of the reason the Mets have had to rely so heavily on Brazobán is the wonky construction of their bullpen.

New York currently has two long relievers (Myers, Manaea) in its bullpen to go with its main late-inning options: Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and closer Devin Williams. Veteran Craig Kimbrel has been unreliable, making Brazobán and recent call-up Austin Warren essentially the only “non-premium” (read: used before the seventh inning) relievers left in the ‘pen.

The Mets have to figure out a more efficient way to structure its pitching staff behind its rotation, or it runs the risk of more overreliance on Brazobán. That’s a risky road that tends to end in injury.

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