These 3 free agent relievers are "musts" for Buck Showalter's bullpen

2) Adam Ottavino was good enough for the Mets in year one, let’s give him another or two

The Mets may be picking between Adam Ottavino and David Robertson for the role the former had with the team in 2022. A native New Yorker who we saw excel last year, let’s stick with what we know.

Showalter knew how to push all of the right buttons on Ottavino. He gave the Mets a 6-3, 2.06 ERA performance in 65.2 innings of work. It was a huge bounceback campaign for him after a pair of rough seasons with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Can he be great for them again in 2023?

Ottavino’s early success with the Colorado Rockies should always entice teams into seeing him in a different light. Any pitcher who can thrive with them would naturally have success somewhere else. Even though he hasn’t pitched for Colorado since 2018, Ottavino has shown he remains a steady presence in the bullpen.

His first year with the Yankees included a 1.90 ERA in 66.1 innings. We can almost dismiss the 2020 season entirely. In 2021 with the Red Sox, the 4.21 ERA was worse than expected but not a Greek Tragedy by any means.

If you’d rather have Robertson, I don’t blame you. We just already know what Ottavino can do. Rather than completely rebuild the bullpen, it would be nice to invite this veteran righty back into the mix.