3 offseason moves that will make the Mets early National League favorites

The Mets bringing aboard multiple veteran relievers helps ease the early tension that concerns their bullpen depth.

If you were on the Fangraphs.com RosterResource website on the night of December 4, you saw the Mets’ projected bullpen as Edwin Diaz, Drew Smith, Bryce Montes de Oca, Jeff Brigham, Stephen Nogosek, John Curtiss, Tayler Saucedo, and Yoan Lopez. That is not good enough of a bullpen to get you far.

But the beauty of the free agent market is while it is thin on key offensive players and starting pitching, the relief market is traditionally deep because of all the movement on a year-to-year basis, and there are plenty of good ones, including 2022 Mets in Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, and Mychal Givens, and a lefty I begged the Mets to get from the Tigers at the trade deadline in August in Andrew Chafin. Chafin declined his 2023 team option with Detroit last month.

Other veteran relievers that could help New York are Taylor Rogers, Craig Kimbrel, David Robertson, and Matt Moore. The Mets need to sign at least two of these above names to shore up the seventh and eighth innings of games.

The bullpen was good, but not elite, and given salary commitments to other players, it will take the bullpen to be good again to get the Mets in the World Series conversation again.