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

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.