3 Mets players who have already raised our expectations for the second half

NY Mets relief pitcher Adam Ottavino has raised our expectations

One of the more curious and sometimes forgotten additions by the Mets this offseason was the free agent signing of Adam Ottavino. The Mets had a far greater need in the bullpen: a lefty. Instead of signing one of the big name southpaws, they gave Ottavino a nice one-year contract.

Ottavino has lived up to it with regular strong performances on the mound. He hasn’t been completely dominant. In the absence of Trevor May for most of the year and Seth Lugo looking much more average than ever, adding him has been a great help for Buck Showalter.

The Mets have been using Ottavino regularly in the eighth inning this season with occasional appearances a little earlier as well. Coming off of a 5.89 ERA in 2020 and a 4.21 ERA performance in 2021, he has been far more reliable at run prevention for the Mets this year.

There is little doubt the Mets can turn to Ottavino for big high-leverage innings now and in the future. They’ve suffered plenty of injuries to their pitching staff so having him has been even more important.

If not for the dominance from closer Edwin Diaz or even the rise of Drew Smith into a reliever of equal status as Ottavino, he’d be the most positive story out of the bullpen this year. Instead, it takes a quiet bronze star.