Hypothetical Mets playoff roster is shifting further away from a traditional one

Leave it for a Friday night on AppleTV+ to remind us all what we let slip our minds; the New York Mets bullpen isn’t very good. We’ve known this for a long time. Thanks to all of the cracking the bats and deep games from the starters, it could’ve slipped anyone’s mind like the name of a new coworker you’re sure won’t last their first day.

We got a dose of this last weekend when both of their losses to the Philadelphia Phillies were awarded to relief pitchers. The second on Sunday went to Edwin Diaz whom we do trust in a big spot. We shouldn’t confidently be able to say the same about a few of the other Mets relievers who’ve taken the mound recently.

Danny Young? He’s pitching more like Danny Octogenarian. Adam Ottavino? Adam Notonmyplayoffrosteravino. Even Huascar Brazoban who had been pitching well of late added some scars to his season on Friday. Could he become Huascar Brazobanned from the playoff roster?

The solution for the potential Mets playoff roster is to load up on starting pitchers instead of relievers

Throw all of the roles out the window in the postseason. Instead of tricking yourself into thinking someone with extensive relief experience has more value than the fourth or even fifth-best starting pitcher option, the Mets need to ride the hot arms.

Something spectacular has happened in the month of September. The Mets starting pitchers have been more unhittable than not. David Peterson’s poor appearance on Friday and the recent struggles against the Toronto Blue Jays have him trending in the wrong direction at the worst time. Given the lefty reliever situation on this team, he should at the very least become a source of stability out of the bullpen for the Mets in the postseason.

A case can be made for all of the starting pitchers to join the team in the playoffs. Some don’t come as a surprise. Sean Manaea and Luis Severino are the absolute locks to start a game. Jose Quintana has reintroduced himself as a candidate. What about Kodai Senga in an abbreviated appearance or even Tylor Megill strictly out of the bullpen?

The Mets will first need to secure a playoff spot for us to think too deeply about who they’ll carry with them into the postseason. Right now, a key to making it there is keeping the majority of relievers off the field. 

This month, and what an amazing month it has still been, only Diaz (1.13), Reed Garrett (0.00), Jose Butto (2.45), and Ryne Stanek (3.86) have come out of the bullpen and delivered an ERA below the 4.00 mile marker. The starting pitchers have taken the mentality of going deeper into games. Any October baseball the Mets may play should include a few more of those starters in relief.