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.

Andrew Miller

A 16 year major league veteran, one of the top southpaws for the Mets to pick up and add to the bullpen is 2-time All Star Andrew Miller.

Miller has been well travelled over the course of his career, having pitched for 7 different teams over the past 16 season, and has put up numbers just about everywhere he's been.

Starting out his career as a starting pitcher, Miller eventually transitioned into a relief pitcher and went on to become one of the best in the business,

His best stretch came over the course of the 2015-2017 seasons as a member of the Yankees and Indians, where over the course of 198.2 innings, Miller logged a staggering 1.63 ERA.

After leaving the Indians following the 2018 season, Miller signed a 3 year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. In his 3 years with the Cards,
Miller logged over 103.2 innings with the Cards, posting a total 4.34 ERA

Clearly Miller's best days are behind him, but he can still be an effective reliever, and while his total ERA isn't great, his showings against left handed hitters are much more impressive.

For the 2021 season, Miller held left handed batters to a .182 batting average and .257 OBP. Just for comparison, against lefties in 2021, Aaron Loup held left handed hitters to a .167 batting average and a .226 OBP.

Miller may be past his prime, but his isn't too far off from Loup's numbers against left handers, and while he may not be the man to anchor the team's bullpen, he could easily serve as a left handed specialist.

Andrew Miller has the experience and the track record to really make a difference in the Mets bullpen, and whenever the lockout finally ends, New York would be wise to reach out to him.

Tony Watson

While Andrew Miller is arguably the top option in terms of left handed relievers still available on the free agent market, a close second is the former 2014 All-Star Tony Watson.

Another well travelled veteran of the major leagues, the 36 year old south paw first made is debut in the big leagues as a member of the Pittsburg Pirates during the 2011 season. He spent his first 7 years with Pittsburg before being dealt to the Dodgers at the 2017 deadline.

Following that, Watson spent the next 3 years with the San Francisco Giants before signing with our rival Phillies prior to the 2021 season on a minor league deal. He opted out of his contract after spring training however, and signed a 1 year deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

After spending the first half of the year in Anaheim, Watson was traded back to the Giants at the 2021 deadline, and helped to guide them to the NL West title and the post season.

For his 11 year career, Watson has posted a 2.90 ERA over 648.1 innings over 689 games. Tony has been very consistent over the bulk of his career, but in baseball you are only as good as your last game.

Luckily, Watson was still very effective as a member of the Angels and Giants despite being in the latter part of his career. For the 2021 season, Watson appeared in 62 total games, posting a 3.92 ERA over 57.1 innings.

He performed particularly well for the Giants following his trade back to San Francisco, going 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 24.1 innings over 26 relief appearances.

Clearly, despite already spending 11 years in the league. Watson proved in 2021 that he can still be an effective reliever and be a valuable asset to a play off contender.

He certainly fits the bill in terms of replacing Aaron Loup's role out of the bullpen
and if the Mets were wise, they should give his agent a call the second lockout is over.

Jake Diekman

Last but certainly no least, one final free agent southpaw that the Mets should consider bringing in is another former Oakland A, Jake Diekman.

A journeyman reliever, Diekman began his career with our rival Phillies back in 2012 before being traded to the Texas Rangers mid way through the 2015 season. After 3 years in Arlington, he was traded once again, this time to the Diamondbacks at the 2018 deadline.

He his free agency for the first time the following off-season before being picked up by the Kansas City Royals on a 1 year deal, who would go on to trade him to the Oakland Athletics in July of 2019.

Diekman would go on to spend the next 3 seasons as a member of the Oakland A's, and he would go on to have arguably the most successful run of his career.

Over his 10 years in the league, Diekman has a career 3.73 ERA in 456 innings spanning over 529 games between 5 different teams as a reliever.

However, in his time with the Athletics, Diekman posted a 3.25 ERA in 102.1 innings over 116 games. His best year by far came in 2022, where the then 33 year old southpaw posted a 0.42 ERA over 21.1 innings, which was the lowest in his career.

Now that he is once again a free agent and coming off of the best run of his career, Diekman will surely have many suitors pining for his services once the current lockout ends.

However, until it finally does end we can only speculate who the Mets should sign once free agency resumes, but fans can rest easy knowing that when it comes to finding a new left hander to anchor New York's bullpen, the team has plenty of options to chose from.