Mets offseason grades for 3 major bullpen additions

NY Mets re-sign Adam Ottavino: Grade B+

One of the most important moves the Mets made this winter was bringing back their most reliable reliever from a year ago not named Edwin Diaz. By season’s end, Adam Ottavino was the unquestioned setup man for Diaz, pitching to a 2.06 ERA and producing a 2.3 bWAR – tremendous value for a relief pitcher.

Like Robertson, the biggest question will be whether Ottavino, who turned 37 in November, can continue pitching at or near the pace he set last year. It wasn’t long ago that Ottavino struggled in stints with the Yankees and Red Sox before returning to form in Queens.

Still, it’s a risk worth taking for the Mets – and amidst a career renaissance, makes perfect sense for the native New Yorker to run it back with a hometown team. Ottavino’s return to form was due in large part to the same approach his new teammate, Brooks Raley, employed – using his slider often (43%) and effectively (top five in hard-hit and barrel percentage).

It will be interesting to see how Buck Showalter deploys Ottavino next season, now that he has more options to bridge the innings between his starters and Diaz. Considering what the Mets bullpen looked like heading into the offseason, it’s a welcome problem to have.