If the Mets roster needs a long man, they have a good candidate in Syracuse

A solid long man in the bullpen is more of a luxury than a necessity. The New York Mets were hoping they could replicate with Adrian Houser what they got from Trevor Williams in 2022. No dice. Houser was good for a while but fizzled out in recent outings. He was DFA’d prior to the trade deadline and officially released the day after once the rest of Major League Baseball passed on taking his contract.

What’s next for the Mets? Foregoing the idea of a long man in the bullpen has some dangers with this starting staff. Tylor Megill entered in Wednesday’s loss upon Luis Severino’s early exit. He’s one candidate to take on a similar role, but the necessity of keeping him stretched out in case of an emergency start is in play, too.

An option in the minor leagues for the Mets to consider is Max Kranick. Picked up on waivers this offseason from the Pittsburgh Pirates and a survivor of the waiver wire, he’s an optional ex-starter who has shifted to a bullpen role in Syracuse. Regularly used for 2 or more innings in relief this year, the kid from Scranton who grew up rooting for the Mets may finally have the wiggle room needed to pitch in the majors for his childhood team.

What has Mets waiver pickup Max Kranick been up to in Syracuse?

Kranick has already been DFA’d this year but after passing through waivers he remained with the club and accepted the assignment to the minor leagues. How could he not? Pitching for the Mets would be a dream come true.

In no way should Kranick be considered the same level of multi-inning threat as Jose Butto. This pitch is more about replacing Houser whose attempt to pitch in high-leverage spots was a failure. Kranick is more of a match for mop-up duties and to help a starting staff that at times runs the pitch count up quickly and needs a bailout.

Kranick had a rough first month pitching to a 5.73 ERA. The thing of it is, those 11 innings all came as a starter in 5 different attempts. All but the final one took place in the lower minor leagues as rehab appearances. They barely count and shouldn’t even be considered in assessing his season.

Exclusively in relief, Kranick is 1-1 with a 3.41 ERA in his first 37 innings. He has struck out 35 batters, walked 11, and yielded consistent results since May. He has monthly ERAs of 3.46, 2.93, and 3.38 over the last three months. July did see his WHIP launch up but he held strong at preventing runs. He pitched on August one, delivering a clean 1.2 innings

The upcoming Mets schedule with limited off-days in August might be a time to press this lever. The bullpen was reinforced at the trade deadline with several options to move back and forth from the majors and minors. Kranick, left in the dust months ago, might have a case to see action as a preventative measure. It’s not as easy as sending players up and down because of the MLB rule that 10 days must pass before a player can be recalled. Plenty good this year in the minors, he’s a capable arm to devour a plate full of innings.