1 flaw that is already showing

New York Mets v Washington Nationals
New York Mets v Washington Nationals | Greg Fiume/GettyImages

The 2022 New York Mets have gotten off to a solid start. Following their first ten games of the season, they won seven of them. They have also won each of their first three series as a result.

I know it is early but the team has a different feel than in previous seasons. They are coming through with clutch hits, both with runners in scoring position and with two outs, something we did not see a lot of last year. The starting pitching has been lights out and has gotten off to the best start of any MLB rotation in the last 109 years per SNY.

The New York Mets bullpen has struggled and been the clear weak spot of the Mets in the young season.

As previously stated, both the lineup and rotation have been solid early on. The bullpen on the other hand has been the opposite. The bullpen is accountable for each of the first three losses the Mets had.

In five games so far, Seth Lugo has a 8.31 ERA and one of the losses, newly acquired lefty Joely Rodriguez has a 13.50 ERA in 4 games, including one of the team's losses, Sean Reid-Foley has a 13.50 ERA in 3 games, and Trevor May has a 6.00 ERA in 3 games.

Only two pitchers out of the bullpen have a WHIP under 1.20 and although some guys have a lower ERA, it has not been easy for them or easy to watch as a Mets fan. Adam Ottavino has yet to allow a run through four appearances, but he does have a H/9 of 12.3 and Trevor Williams has a 0.00 ERA but also has a 21.6 H/9 and one of the team's losses.

The season is still obviously young but based on the early impression, the Mets bullpen is the clear weak point. Many people, including myself, believed that the Mets should have added an experienced/high leverage arm or two this offseason and it shows so far.

Through the first ten games, the Mets have a team ERA of 2.35. The rotation has a 1.07 ERA in 50.1 innings while the bullpen has a 4.06 ERA in 37.2 innings. This is a pretty significant difference between all three given the innings total for each.

The bullpen can clearly turn it around with guys who have solid years in the past off to slow starts like Lugo, Ottavino, and May, but I still think they need another top arm or two to be a serious World Series contending team, especially another left handed pitcher.

Schedule