It doesn’t seem like the NY Mets will sign another free agent relief pitcher

The MLB offseason has had a flurry of major moves, the Kyle Tucker dam breaking quickly followed by the New York Mets’ pivot to Bo Bichette. What has quietly been gobbled up are a slew of mid-level relief pitchers in free agency.

In January, Jakob Junis, Tyler Kinley, Pierce Johnson, and our old friend Ryne Stanek all signed new contracts. This is the most practical tier we could have envisioned the Mets shopping in. Their bullpen is strong in the back end with righties Devin Williams and Luke Weaver alongside lefties A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley. That’s half the bullpen right there in addition to what’ll likely be a spot for Huascar Brazoban and a longman. Cooper Criswell is a current favorite for that spot.

Rounding out the bullpen, at least according to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource, we have Adbert Alzolay and Richard Lovelady. The latter only makes the team if Minter or Raley are hurt to begin the year. In any case, the Mets have passed over essentially all of the potential fits and fliers who would have had any shot at making the team out of camp. It feels like they’re done adding to their bullpen via free agency. A trade is a different story.

This isn’t the final Mets bullpen, they’re going to trade for someone

As shored up as the infield has become, they’ve added additional questions. Are they keeping the infield intact or is someone like Brett Baty or Mark Vientos getting traded? If so, that’s one more asset they can use to acquire a reliever with a little more than mid-level abilities.

The quality of reliever the Mets can still land depends on what they’re giving up. Considering they still need to subtract a starting pitcher, we can surmise a number of scenarios.

Dealing Kodai Senga, even with the questions he has, should net the Mets at least one major league reliever on top of a possible lower-level arm with minor league options. The same should be true for David Peterson although the quality might be diminished with him being a rental. The Mets might gladly just take the MLB reliever for him. It’s a swap of innings for high-leverage spots late in games.

The San Diego Padres remain one of those teams we have to consider a trade partner for the Mets. They continue to stew with a high payroll, yet to deal away from their pitching surplus while adding to it. Nick Pivetta is the starting pitcher target for the Mets. In the bullpen, Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada are the two most realistic choices.

A Mets-Padres trade might be more of a spring training thing, even close to Opening Day. The Mets can hold onto their starting pitching surplus, knowing an injury is bound to happen in St. Lucie. The Padres can do the same with their bullpen although they’d have extra urgency if the priority is going into the season with a full rotation while also lowering payroll. There’s a chance they never get the offer they want. Who cares about their needs anyway?

A pitcher like Alzolay can certainly change the dynamic of the Mets bullpen with a strong year. It’s that spot currently belonging to Lovelady that’s the toughest to figure out. The Mets signed him to a split contract with the purpose being to DFA him and more easily pass him through waivers. This matches up well with the thought the Mets will be a team looking for a late March opportunity to add to the bullpen further.