3 NY Mets players whose early success feels like it has a nearing expiration date

3) Reed Garrett

Should we actually be surprised at how well Reed Garrett has done? He’s probably the best example of the moldable journeyman pitcher Jeremy Hefner and David Stearns love to get their hands on. Amazingly, he wasn’t even acquired by Stearns, but the Mets’ POBO did decide to keep him around in 2024 as a depth piece. He had his chance early and rewarded the Mets for their faith. While it was a bit of a rollercoaster at times in part because of the way he was used, Garrett has slotted in more comfortably as less of a multi-inning arm (like Brazoban was early in the year) and has been utilized as a high-leverage arm more valuable for 3 outs.

Garrett finished the 2024 season with a 3.77 ERA and insane 13 K/9 rate. This season, Garrett owns a 3.12 ERA with a 10.4 K/9 rate. The walks have, unfortunately, increased to 4.9 per 9 versus the already alarming 4.7 per 9 they were last season. Some bad luck as well as one miserable performance recently has Garrett toeing the line of being in the circle of trust. Much like last season when the wheels seemed to suddenly come off, is Garrett headed toward being far less dominant than he was early on?

In case you forgot, which I’m sure you did because you were so fascinated with how well Brazoban and Max Kranick did in the spring, Garrett was as good as anyone. He tossed 6 shutout frames and allowed a single hit. He walked only 1 batter while striking out 9.

Garrett remains an essential part of Carlos Mendoza’s bullpen. He should remain in a high-leverage role until he gives the Mets no reason to trust him ever again.