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3 lefty candidates to replace Chasen Shreve in the bullpen after DFA

By Tim Boyle |
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The New York Mets decided enough was enough with lefty reliever Chasen Shreve. To make room for Max Scherzer on their 26-man roster, Shreve was designated for assignment. The 6.49 ERA that only got worse in recent outings put an end to one of the most questionable roles on the roster.

The Mets will now have only Joely Rodriguez as a left-handed bullpen option until they make another move. Perhaps a trade?

More immediate, the Mets could turn to one of these southpaws for some left-handed relief.

1) Mets roster replacement for Chasen Shreve: David Peterson in the bullpen

An unpopular choice, David Peterson is far better off giving the Mets regular starts than slotting into the bullpen. Even if it means he ends up back on the farm where he’ll lie in wait, the Mets cannot afford for him to go cold.

Peterson has been the “sixth man” of the year for this team even though he is technically further down the depth chart than that. His brilliance on the mound could make him an option out of the bullpen later on this season. Right now, he should only start games for them or the Syracuse version of the Mets.

Peterson went on paternity leave recently and is expected to start for the Mets on Wednesday. Until the team gets Jacob deGrom and/or Chris Bassitt back, it looks like he might stick around. By the end of July, could he end up in the bullpen as a dangerous lefty? Chances are against it because of how much he can add to the club as an emergency starter rather than a relief arm.

2) Mets roster replacement for Chasen Shreve: Alex Claudio promoted from the minors

One of the other veterans the Mets inked to a minor league deal this offseason that competed for the job Shreve eventually won was Alex Claudio. He has spent his entire year in Triple-A with some promising numbers to make a case for a promotion.

Through 24.2 innings, Claudio is 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA. A pitcher with good control but relatively low strikeout numbers, he’s someone who needs good defense behind him to be successful. He might translate well on this Mets team.

Claudio is not, however, a member of the 40-man roster. To get promoted, someone else would have to be designated for assignment to clear room. Jake Reed might make the most sense. His time with the Mets has been unproductive. He is also very replaceable with one look at the waiver wire.

Claudio does own a solid 3.63 ERA in 344.1 big league innings but his best days all came in his first four seasons with the Texas Rangers. In all of those years, he had an ERA below 3.00. The most recent four years includes a low of 4.06 but with a league-leading 83 games played back in 2019.

For an innings eater, Claudio might be a temporary answer for the Mets. It would take much more than the 5.51 ERA performance he has last year with the Los Angeles Angels for the team to not add someone from outside the organization.

3) Mets roster replacement for Chasen Shreve: Rob Zastryzny promoted from the minors

Rob Zastryzny will leave New York fans tongue-tied if he does get promoted to the big leagues. Also a non-member of the 40-man roster, he could be the other best option from the Syracuse club for a major league promotion. He has managed to give them a 3.78 ERA in 33.1 innings of work. With an average of 10 strikeouts per nine innings, he has the potential to be a little more dominant.

His very minor experience at the big leagues includes 34.2 innings spread across three years with the Chicago Cubs. The result is a 2-0 record and 4.41 ERA. Zastryzny hasn’t pitched in a MLB game since 2018 so there might be a little more hesitance to promote him over Claudio.

Two other options might be Thomas Szapucki and Locke St. John. However, Szapucki feels more like starting pitcher depth and St. John was just DFA’d himself. They feel less likely. The Mets might, instead, look to give Edmonton’s Zastryzny an opportunity to clear any ghosts his fellow Canadian brother Jason Bay left at Citi Field. Maybe we get lucky and he’s the next Ron Taylor.

Whatever the Mets decide to do, it’s clear they will be on the hunt for a left-handed reliever as the long-term option. In the interim, these are the names they could be looking at to replace Shreve’s role.

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