Free agent with unusual profile could still make sense for the NY Mets bullpen

Most relievers give you a clear reason to buy in or walk away. Every so often, one manages to do both at once. The New York Mets aren’t allergic to taking chances in the bullpen, and the current crop of available arms includes one profile that jumps out for being equal parts exciting and exasperating. It’s the sort of case that keeps you thinking about what might work if the right tweak is made.

When that profile turns out to be Scott Barlow, the push-and-pull starts to make sense. He shows something the Mets could use, then immediately reminds you why he’s still available, and neither part is easy to overlook. It isn’t about guessing what he might be — the contrast is already right there. If the Mets think they can clean up the one thing holding him back, his name becomes hard to ignore.

For the Mets, Scott Barlow’s elite hard-hit mark and bottom walk rate are tough to ignore.

The Cincinnati Reds declined Scott Barlow’s 2026 option, sending him into the open market with a projected value around $2.6 million. That number won’t surprise anyone, and looking at his ERA shows why. He wrapped up the 2025 season with a 4.21 mark, giving up 50 hits and striking out 75 across 68.1 innings. The last time his ERA grabbed headlines came in 2021 and 2022, when he posted sub-2.50 seasons and looked every bit like a late-inning anchor.

Once you move past ERA, the real splits show up. Barlow’s control problems haven’t been too subtle. His walk rate ranked in the bottom 1 percent of MLB last season at 14.9 percent, after a 2024 season that ranked in the bottom 3 percent. Walks are a reliever’s worst enemy because they pile pressure on without the offense doing a thing to earn it. Barlow paid for that flaw plenty of times, and it shaped how people viewed everything else he brought to the table.

How Scott Barlow’s strengths line up with needs in the Mets bullpen

Then comes the part that makes you look twice. In 2025, Barlow ranked in the top 1% of MLB in hard-hit percentage and top 4% in average exit velocity, marks he’s kept inside the top 10% of the league for four straight seasons. When he throws strikes, the ball doesn’t come off the bat with authority — it’s as simple as that. Teams spend entire offseasons searching for relievers who limit punishment like that, and Barlow already has it in place.

There’s also a foundation to build on beyond just weak contact. Barlow used five pitches last season, and three of them — his sweeper, four-seamer, and curve — held hitters under a .200 batting average. That gives pitching coach Justin Willard a real base to work from, rather than a project that needs to be torn apart before anything improves. If the Mets can trim the walks even a bit, the rest of Barlow’s work suddenly comes into focus. At that point, his profile doesn’t feel puzzling anymore — it looks like something that can pay off if the one issue gets sorted out.