3 NY Mets players who need to improve before the MLB trade deadline to save their job

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Along with adding before the MLB trade deadline, the New York Mets will subtract a few players as well. We’ve reached the point of the season where even cheaper ball clubs will DFA a player just to clear the roster spot in favor of someone better. The Mets have routinely packed up players throughout this season and slapped a “return to sender” label on it. They didn’t even have to shamefully walk into the back of a Kohl’s after waiting 15 minutes in the wrong line with their shoes that were a size too big because their feet have magically shrunk despite never been cursed by a gnome.

To save their jobs, these three Mets players have less than two weeks to show they’re worth keeping around. An honorable mention goes out to DJ Stewart whose minor league option should be in play.

1) Adam Ottavino

Adam Ottavino is apparently trying to raise his ERA a full run from year to year. At 2.06 in 2022 and up to 3.21 last season, Ottavino finished the first half way up at 4.89. He hasn’t been clutch for the team in any regard. One should question what purpose he even has in the bullpen if Carlos Mendoza can’t trust him for big outs.

Unfortunately, Ottavino isn’t trending in the right direction either. He is having an “every other month” type of season. A brilliant 1.69 ERA in his first month of the season led to a 9.28 ERA performance in May. He was good in June with a 3.18 ERA. So far in July he has logged just 2.1 innings in 3 appearances and has allowed 2 runs to cross.

High-leverage situations have been where Ottavino struggles most. A .277/.382/.426 slash line against him in those spots versus just a .111/.172/.111 in medium leverage spots suggests he is no longer the stopper the Mets need in the bullpen. The man can get big league outs but not in the moments they hoped he could.

Signed on just a one-year deal, Ottavino is on the border of getting DFA’d if he doesn’t show signs of improvement over the next few outings.

2) Jake Diekman

What is there to say about Jake Diekman that hasn’t already been drunkenly tweeted at 8:55pm by a rabid Mets fan? He’s the reason they couldn’t resist the scotch in the first place. A horrific 5.53 ERA and only 27.2 innings of work while having a team-high 39 games under his belt, his greatest issue has been walks. A rate of 7.2 per 9, teams don’t even have to swing the bat to do damage against him.

When they swing and contact is made, they’re having a lot of luck, too. Diekman has started to give up more home runs. The 1.6 per 9 rate is twice his career total.

The spotlight shines on Diekman heavily because he is the veteran lefty in the bullpen. The Mets have shuffled through a couple of other southpaws to try and find one to stick. Danny Young has been one of the more regularly seen options. Unrelated, the team picked up Alex Young off of waivers. We also saw them trade for Matt Gage not long ago, too.

Diekman has been tough on hitters. Lefties are batting .167 against him. Righties are at only .220. However, it’s the .328 OBP versus lefties that has opened the door for righties to come up with bigger hits. They have a .375 OBP and a .580 slugging percentage.

The doors are coming completely off for Diekman who has a 19.29 ERA in July and a .429/.500/.1.000 slash line against him after 16 plate appearances. Pitchers can luck into some hard-hit outs. What about when you’re walking everyone and many of those hard-hit balls are landing over the fence?

3) Adrian Houser

Moving Adrian Houser from the rotation to the bullpen helped save him for a little while longer. We can’t fairly look at his 5.89 ERA on the season and make any claim. He has been two different pitchers.

As a starter, Houser went 0-4 with an 8.55 ERA in 33.2 innings. In relief, he has gone 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 32 innings. His walks have been cut in half in nearly the same amount of innings from 21 down to 10. He has been much more effective and if the Mets do want to keep him around for the long haul, he might need to get back on track.

Houser hasn’t been as sharp lately. A .375/.400/.917 slash line against him and alarming 4 home runs in just 5.1 innings in July, he has started to lose rationale to keep him around. The 1.08 ERA performance in June was huge for the Mets especially with Diekman and Ottavino struggling.

Houser has done better than those two, but in a role where he is more mop-up than multi-inning threat, could the Mets convince themselves there are better ways to build the roster? Jose Butto has stepped up as a multi-inning and high-leverage reliever. There isn’t as great of a need to have a player like Houser around if all he can do is pitch in blowouts. His roster spot could go to an optional reliever just as easily.

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