4 left-handed relievers who could replace Aaron Loup

Thus far, the 2021 - 2022 MLB offseason has been a historic one, not just for the New York Mets, but for the entirety of Major League Baseball as for the first time since 1994, the league has entered into a lockout, freezing any and all potential free agent signings or trades since December 2nd, 2021

While the end of this lockout is currently unclear and fans are beginning to worry whether or not the season will begin on time, whenever it does end and the season does begin, the New York Mets are already set to be in good standing.

Despite currently being in a good position, the Mets do have several holes in the roster that they need to address, and one of particular interest is signing another southpaw for the bullpen. However, until lockout is over, the question remains:

Which free agent left handed relief pitcher should the New York Mets sign?

Coming into this off-season, the Mets needed to make a big splash in free agency if they hoped to be competitive in 2022, with players like Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Michael Conforto and Aaron Loup all set to hit the open market

Luckily, just before the lockout went into affect, the Mets acted fast on the free agent pool, locking up some of the league's biggest free agents.

The Mets were able to lock up Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha each to multi-year deals just before the current freeze went into affect, and look to be in good standing heading into the 2022 season.

They also hired the most experienced manager on the market in Buck Showalter, a man who has spent 20 years managing teams in the big leagues set to lead the Mets in 2022 with our eyes firmly set on the post-season.

However, the Mets are still missing a few pieces, one of which is a replacement for the teams top left handed reliever in 2021, Aaron Loup

Loup joined the Mets on a one year deal prior to the 2021 season and put up historic numbers for New York, posting a 0.95 ERA on 56.2 innings over 65 games.

This marked just the13th time a reliever pitched over 50 innings with an ERA below a run in MLB history, and broke the Mets' franchise record for lowest ERA by a reliever in a season.

Prior to the lockout, Loup jumped ship and signed a 2 year $17 million deal with the Angels, leaving some very big shoes behind that the Mets front office is now tasked to fill.

Luckily, when the lockout is finally over, the Mets will have several quality left handed relievers to chose from on the open market who could help to fill the role.

In fact, four southpaws in particular come to mind.