Mets free agent relief pitchers: 3 we should buy, 2 we should sell on having a good year

Sell the Jorge Lopez signing

Is Jorge Lopez a bounce back candidate or someone who fooled us all in the first half of 2022? Sure, relief pitchers are unpredictable. Outside of one tremendous stretch with the Baltimore Orioles, Lopez has been a batting practice pitcher. Parts of his career were spent as a starter. Nonetheless, only his 48.1 innings for Baltimore which were virtually erased after a trade to the Minnesota Twins look appealing.

A lifetime 5.51 ERA for someone with almost 500 MLB innings shouldn’t convince anyone he’s headed toward a productive season. He finished last year with a 5.95 ERA performance in 59 frames. 

As a groundball pitcher for most of his career, one would think run prevention was easier to come by. One issue is a hard hit percentage over the league average. Lopez is at 42.3% in his career compared to the MLB average at 38.8% during this span. A groundball hit past a diving infielder down the line is just as bad as a blooper in the gap.

Lopez won’t be making enough money for the Mets to force him to stay on the roster if the results aren’t there. Sell Lopez being anything more than a mop-up guy. He’ll be a regular during blowout wins and losses.