3 relievers who could replace injured Trevor May for the long haul

The New York Mets just lost one of their most important relievers in Trevor May after he suffered a stress reaction in his humerus. The injury will keep him from throwing for 8-12 weeks and I'd be shocked if he was back pitching before the all-star break.

This is a big blow to a Mets bullpen that has had its ups and downs. Despite his slow start, May was still one of the more important relievers the Mets had as he was a valuable late inning arm.

Even with May healthy, the Mets should have been looking at the reliever market this trade deadline. Now with this injury, they might have to get two relievers.

Fortunately, the Mets have three relievers with fairly high upside who can fill some sort of role in the bullpen until May can come back.

1. Mets reliever Yoan Lopez

Yoan Lopez has made quite the first impression on Mets fans. He has made two appearances and each one had entertainment. In his first outing, he threw a pitch up and inside against Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals which led to a benches clearing brawl. Lopez was fined, but not suspended for that.

In his other appearance with the Mets, Lopez threw inside twice against Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber and hit third baseman Alec Bohm with a change-up as well. Lopez was suspended for three games for what MLB deemed was purposely throwing inside against Schwarber.

Lopez deserves a lot of praise for sticking up for his players, and certainly has won the players and fans respect. Even without that, I think there're some encouraging signs with Lopez as a major league caliber reliever.

In his first full season in the majors, Lopez appeared in 70 games for the Diamondbacks in 2019 and posted a 3.41 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched. He pitched pretty well for a team that won 85 games in 2019 in a large sample.

Unfortunately things haven't been so good for Lopez at the major league level since, but there's always the hope he can re-gain that form. Do I expect it? No, but he showed pretty decent stuff and should be fine in a mop-up role.

3. Mets pitcher Colin Holderman

Colin Holderman is a name I did not recognize going into spring training. He was a ninth round pick in the 2016 draft who has dealt with a lot of injuries so he hasn't pitched all that much in the minors so he was never really on anyone's radar.

Holderman went from a guy who was throwing 93-94 mph to hitting 99 mph in Spring Training. This caught the Mets eye and he's a guy they're excited about, and so am I.

Holderman is finally healthy after major injuries including needing Tommy John, and is pitching like it. He's pitched 7.1 innings in six appearances for AAA Syracuse and has posted a 2.45 ERA in those appearances.

Holderman really impressed in Spring Training with his velocity and he struck out 14 batters in just 6.2 innings pitched. While he's only struck out five batters so far this season, he proved the stuff is there in the Spring and his velocity can be a major weapon.

Holderman is a lot more raw and is very inexperienced compared to Medina and Lopez but has a lot more upside than those guys have.

The 26 year old is probably the Mets third choice but if Lopez and Medina struggle at the big league level, do not be surprised if Holderman gets the call. He has great stuff and has a chance to make an impact if he ever gets the opportunity.