MLB insider and NY Mets haters concur on the team’s biggest weakness

Whenever something has any signs of a flaw with the New York Mets, you’re going to find those willing to kick and kick and kick. Every Bo Bichette mistake at third base or hitless game out of Juan Soto is going to have haters rubbing their hands together in anticipation of making a mocking post on social media. It’s easier to accept than when actual well-respected insiders have something negative to say although Philadelphia Phillies fans and ESPN reporters can be just as wrong as the other.

Jeff Passan and at least one Phillies fan account on X concur that the biggest Mets weakness this season will be their bullpen.

Is the Mets bullpen really as bad as Jeff Passan and others think?

Call me naive, but I just don’t see how this bullpen is at any more risk of being a disaster than anyone else. The Phillies fan mockery is one thing. Passan’s assessment seems to ignore a few details.

Neither included A.J. Minter, who won’t be ready until May at the earliest. A three-deep back-end bullpen of Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Brooks Raley has high potential in the interim. It’s that unknown with players like Luis Garcia and Huascar Brazoban plus whomever else gets a shot where the doubt seems to creep in.

But how many bullpens in Major League Baseball are as stable from start to finish? Craig Kimbrel’s abilities in 2026 are a huge wild card. Potentially rookies such as Ryan Lambert and Dylan Ross are impact candidates. We shouldn’t negate the possibility of big league innings in relief from Christian Scott either. There’s no reason to hold him back for the full year if he’s pitching well and can contribute.

The negativity around the Mets bullpen seems to be the uncertainty. And no group in baseball is more inconsistent than relievers.

On the matter of depth, Passan is right when it comes to the immediate 40-man roster choices lingering on the outside looking in. Alex Carrillo, Joey Gerber, and Austin Warren thrill no one. Tobias Myers can be an incredibly capable arm out of the bullpen (if he’s not actually starting) but doesn’t seem to fit in as the ideal candidate to pitch regularly in high-leverage spots, more so utilized as a longman even if it comes in games with 3-inning saves.

Once again, the Mets will need to find some gems, stay creative, and seize opportunities in places like the waiver wire. Their bullpen is full of rebound candidates which can project poorly, but also has more potential than a group of never-beens.

The bullpen is as much a candidate to sink the Mets as any other aspect of the team. In some cases, it might not be so much who they use but how they do. Mets starters need to give them innings. Last year, the problem was often a lack of outs from the starting staff which led to an overworked bullpen. It’s a trickledown problem. When that happens, even the strongest relief corps is doomed.