3 offseason decisions that make Billy Eppler look like a genius

Mets reliever David Robertson has stepped well into a familiar role as a reliable late-inning guy.

The Mets had to build a bullpen from scratch as very few contracts from last year carried over to this year, and with the Mets letting Seth Lugo and Trevor May walk, one of their targets from the trade deadline last year was one they needed to sign in David Robertson in order to have a successful offseason. And that happened, and a reason Robertson was an answer was because he knew how to handle being the next man up, agreeing to a $10 million deal for a year.

When Mariano Rivera retired in 2013, someone had to replace the greatest closer in baseball history as the Yankees' closer. And it was David Robertson who was tasked to step in for Mo, and he did a great job at it, as he went 39 of 44 in save opportunities that year.

A similar situation unfolded last month when Edwin Diaz tore his petellar tendon when celebrating a win for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. And somebody needed to step up and be the full-time closer. The Mets supposedly said they were doing a closer-by-committee approach with Diaz out between Robertson (3 saves so far this season) and Adam Ottavino (one save).

But it seems like Robertson is getting most of the save chances, and has maximized on them. In seven outings so far, Robertson has thrown 7.1 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. Imagine what the Mets bullpen would have been like if the Mets didn't sign Robertson.