Mets depth chart: 2 players moving up, 2 moving down before the playoffs

Danny Young is moving down the depth chart

It was looking like David Stearns found another offseason steal on a minor league deal. No one will compare to what Jose Iglesias has given the Mets. However, Danny Young was making a strong showing as the relief pitcher version.

The 30-year-old lefty signed with the Mets after a limited time with the Atlanta Braves last season. Often flipped between the majors and minors throughout the year, the team eventually settled on DFA’ing Jake Diekman and putting more trust in Young.

He rewarded them. No earned runs in July plus an incredible strikeout rate of 14.9 per 9 helped lead into an impressive August where he pitched to a 2.45 ERA. Things haven’t gone smoothly at all in September. Young is 2-1 but with a terrifying 14.29 ERA in 5.2 innings of work. Of the 19 earned runs he has allowed this year, 9 have come in this month.

A glaring hole on the Mets roster is the lefty reliever spot out of the bullpen. Young has still held lefties to a .207/.281/.224 slash line but recent blowups have him trending in the wrong direction. At most, he might only be a guy to help get an out or two against a lefty in the postseason. At worst, he fails and the game gets out of hand.