3 Mets players who will be better in 2024, 2 who will be worse

Adam Ottavino won’t be as reliable out of the bullpen

The season Adam Ottavino had for the Mets in 2023 might compare to what Pete Alonso did. The 3.21 ERA definitely looks good. However, the 1-7 record immediately jumps out. How does a setup man/closer end up with that many losses? From the early blown save against the Milwaukee Brewers through the end of the year, Ottavino had a tendency to come up small in big moments.

Hips don’t lie and neither does FIP. His was at 4.52 last year. An average of 9 strikeouts per 9 (his lowest since 2013) is one reason for it. So is the increase in walks from 2.2 per 9 in 2022 to 4.2 in 2023.

Ottavino is no doubt a reliever the Mets could afford to have on their roster in 2024. He has been too reliable for them in two consecutive years. His first year was remarkably good and somewhat underrated when we have to look at him in comparison to Edwin Diaz.

Steady for much of his career, Ottavino is destined to show his age eventually. He has tossed 60+ innings in each of the last three seasons. Health has been on his side and that’s a major positive. No one anticipates he’ll be anything like he was in 2022 and after what we saw in 2023, we shouldn’t expect him to match those totals either. He’ll be good but as good.