2023 Mets midseason grades: Relief pitchers

Stephen Nogosek – 2023 Mets relief pitcher grade

1st Half Stats: 25.2 IP, 13 games, 0-1, 5.61 ERA, 25 K, 14 BB, 75 ERA+, .903 OPS against

Stephen Nogosek’s poor first half made him an ex-Met and was ineffective as the long reliever for the Mets. In several of his games, the Mets had a chance to come back and win games, but he didn’t attack the strike zone and get ahead of hitters enough, and his inability to keep the ball in the ballpark took the team out of a lot of games.

As a result, he couldn’t consistently give the Mets two effective innings or more of relief when taking the mound, making other relievers get outs when they could have been used elsewhere, while killing the team’s in-game momentum in the process. The Mets designated Nogosek for assignment on June 9 and was released a few days later and is now with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team in Reno.

Grade: D-

Dominic Leone – 2023 Mets relief pitcher grade

1st Half Stats: 24.2 IP, 24 games, 1-3, 4.74 ERA, 26 K, 9 BB, 88 ERA+

Dominic Leone did not start the season in the Mets organization, and who knows if he’ll finish it with the Mets, either. The Mets picked up Leone as a free agent a week after being released by the Texas Rangers in early May, as they were short-handed with injuries to Brooks Raley and others.

Really, though, his stats were not terrible. His walks and batting average are down from last year when he pitched for the Giants, and his strikeout rate went up. However, his three losses were the result of conceding untimely home runs in high leverage situations, and that’s where it counts the most. Thus, a grade of C is warranted here.

Grade: C