3 Mets players who fell short of expectations in the first 81 games, 2 who exceeded them

4) NY Mets reliever David Robertson has exceeded expectations through the 1st 81 games of the 2023 season

David Robertson was not signed to close games. He was signed to work in the seventh and eighth ahead of Edwin Diaz alongside Adam Ottavino in what was supposed to be a very formidable back end of the bullpen.

Diaz hasn't thrown a pitch, and Ottavino has been very subpar, but Robertson has more than held up his end of the bargain.

The 38-year-old was a guy I believed the Mets should've targetted at the deadline last season, and you're seeing why with how effective he's been late in games for this team.

Robertson has an ERA of 1.54 in 31 appearances. He has just 11 saves, but that's mainly due to the Mets inability to win ballgames, especially of late. He's tacked on six holds, and has been great in pretty much every situation possible.

Out of despiration Buck Showalter has asked Robertson to record more than three outs seven times already, and he's been mostly successful doing that.

The rest of the Mets bullpen is a complete disaster, but if they can ever get Robertson in there with a lead, the game does feel secure. It'd be nice if the Mets could get him more leads to work with, but alas.

Robertson will at the very least be a trade chip that can net the Mets a solid asset much like Pham.