Former Mets player they just faced is worth snagging under one condition

Former New York Mets pitcher Chasen Shreve is available yet again. It has been a tumultuous year for the veteran lefty who began with the Texas Rangers, was released in mid-May only to re-sign two weeks later.

Shreve would later reunite with the New York Yankees, only pitching in the minor leagues for them. On August 1, he was released and found his way to the lowly Colorado Rockies just in time to pitch against the Mets for his first and only MLB inning this year.

Currently on the waiver wire because he was DFA'd on Saturday, putting in a claim on him doesn’t make sense for the Mets. They already have better lefty relief pitcher options. Shreve only makes sense under one condition.

Chasen Shreve coming back to the Mets only makes sense if it’s on a minor league deal

The Mets loaded up on some minor league pitching depth on Saturday when they inked a deal with another ex, Vinny Nittoli. The breakup with Shreve is slightly more distant yet more distinguished. He pitched for the Mets in 2020 and again in 2022. Things ended poorly in 2022. While sharing the lefty reliever duties with Joely Rodriguez who managed to last the full season, Shreve eventually saw his ERA balloon up to 6.49 in his 26.1 innings of work.

Shreve spent the 2023 season mostly with the Detroit Tigers where he was better but not much. He had a 4.63 ERA in 44.2 innings for them.

A player with his long resume, varied results, and dominant left hand should have him on several teams’ radar. His lack of minor league options, however, wouldn’t make him anything more than a minor league depth addition to make.

It takes two to tango and the Mets hadn’t previously added him when he became a free agent several other times this year. Shreve has done well against lefties and righties this year in Triple-A. In fact, righties have had far more trouble batting only .118/.225/.206 against him. Lefties aren’t much better with a .192/.236/.462 slash line.

David Stearns has consistently added to the organization whenever possible. Shreve, only on a minor league contract, absolutely makes sense for the Mets. Do they make sense for him?