It looks like this former NY Mets player was just replaced, who's up for a reunion?

You can never get upset with your team when they fail to sign every free agent. It’s just not realistic. Letting free agent reliever Chris Martin go to the Texas Rangers is more of a shoulder shrug for New York Mets fans who realize there are plenty more fish in this free agent sea.

Turning 39 on June 2, Martin doesn’t have age on his side. A late bloomer who spent time in Japan before turning to the US to rectify his career while in his early 30s, it’s hard to bypass just how brilliant he has been in short bursts in his career. Martin had a 1.00 ERA in the shortened 2020 season and managed to pitch to a 1.46 ERA in 24.2 innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers down the stretch in 2022. As if those smaller samples weren’t enough, Martin amazed with a 1.05 ERA in 51.1 innings back in 2023 for the Red Sox.

Last year wasn’t as impressive with a 3.45 ERA, however, he did something many Mets relievers struggled to do: throw strikes. In 44.1 innings, Martin issued only 3 walks. One was intentional. He didn’t rely solely on contact either. Fanning 10.2 batters per 9, he had a very good season that might’ve only looked bad because of how utterly amazing the season prior was. Despite the ERA difference, Martin’s FIP only went up from 2.44 to 2.78. He would have been nice to have for the cheesy Coldplay references alone. Although, if you wanted to have really good references to them you’d have to listen and who wants to put themselves through that kind of agony?

Chris Martin signing with the Rangers likely means David Robertson has been set free

Reunions with exes never tend to go well. There are complicated feelings. Friends of theirs already hate you. Gifts from others you’ve dated in between are sure to cause some fights during round two. With David Robertson, all Mets fans ever got was a brief fling in 2023. He wasn’t “the one who got away” as much as he was “the one we never got to fully experience.”

All Robertson seems to want is to win one more World Series before he retires. He got one in 2009 with the New York Yankees. Ever since an impressive rehab and return to dominance late in games which started in 2022 with the Chicago Cubs and ended with the Philadelphia Phillies closing out games, he has been on the hunt for opportunities to add another championship ring to his finger.

Robertson was a part of two unprecedented trips to the postseason, first with Philadelphia to a pennant in 2022 and in 2023 with the Miami Marlins after he was traded there by the Mets. More recently, he pitched with the reigning champion Rangers with a 3.00 ERA season in 72 innings of work. As per usual, he had fantastic strikeout numbers at 12.4 per 9 which somehow even bested his already great rate of 11.8 in his career. 

Turning 40 in April, Robertson is someone Mets fans will long for a return to New York. This was the case last offseason. It remains the same right now as we look at a bullpen missing firepower late in games in front of Edwin Diaz. The plan to have Robertson pitch the eighth in 2023 in front of Diaz never came to fruition. If the team is ready to spend about $10 million on a stud reliever they had recent success with who doesn’t look cooked yet, he’d be an even better option than Martin.