New York Mets: Three free agent relievers to upgrade the bullpen
The New York Mets are looking for quality left-handed bullpen help. Here are three options that fit the mold.
Can we get some activity going in the free agency market, please? Save us, Steve Cohen and the New York Mets!
To be fair, at least the Mets have already gone out and signed backstop James McCann and reliever Trevor May, two very good signings that signal the beginning of a new era in New York, an era Mets faithful have been impatiently waiting for.
But the New York Mets are done quite yet. Trevor Bauer is still out there, so is George Springer, and trade pieces like Francisco Lindor are still being dangled out to the rest of the league.
One area in which we can be as certain as one can be during free agency, is that the New York Mets will likely go after a left-handed reliever to solidify the bullpen, having already been connected to one dominant closer capable of giving the Mets a reliable late-inning arm.
Here are three options the New York Mets should consider this winter.
LHP Brad Hand
Let’s start with the most obvious left-handed candidate and recent hot stove rumor, Brad Hand.
Hand has been a standout closer since 2017, accumulating 5.6 Wins Above Replacement during stints with the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians. His lowest strikeout rate since the ’17 season was 33.4%, with his highest ERA coming in 2019 at an impressive 3.30 (2.80 FIP that season).
He’s the top LH reliever on the market and after being placed on waivers by Cleveland, who refused to pay him $10 million next season, every single team passed on him, meaning the New York Mets could land him for two-three years at less than $10 per season. A pretty good deal for a three-time All-Star coming off a huge season in Cleveland.
Hand led the league with 16 saves, recording a 2.05 ERA (1.37 FIP) with a 33.7% strikeout rate and career-low 4.7% walk rate.
Sandy Alderson has previously stated that he would have likely claimed Hand if he had the ability to earlier. Perhaps, a move is made now that a new front office is in place and is eager to present a winning club to the fans.
Some old friends may be able to help provide depth for the New York Mets.
While the left-handed reliever market isn’t very deep, there are a few quality arms available and old friend Justin Wilson is one of those arms.
Wilson isn’t exactly an “old friend”, having pitched with the New York Mets over the last two seasons, but the 33-year-old, nine-year MLB veteran has been a reliable bullpen arm across his career, one which the Mets could look to bring back for 2021.
The walks may be an issue (10.7% career walk rate), but Wilson has struck out just over 26% of hitters in each of his two seasons with the Mets, has seen his groundball rate sit between 45-51%, and has a 2.91 ERA across 68 games.
Wilson also doesn’t allow very many hard-hit balls. Both his 28% hard-hit rate and 84.5 mph average exit velocity on balls in play ranked among the top 8% of all pitchers last season.
Another familiar face option could also be Chasen Shreve. Shreve had a good first season with the Mets last year, posting a 33% strikeout rate, a .189 average against, and a 3.96 ERA across 25 innings.
Recycling all old names isn’t the most exciting thing to think about, but this Mets bullpen is already pretty good, even better with the addition of May. Familiar faces to provide depth isn’t a bad idea, especially if New York ends up throwing a bunch of money elsewhere.
If he can pitch close to as well as he did last season, Jake McGee would be a solid pickup for the New York Mets.
Last, but not least, let’s talk about Jake McGee. McGee struggled in his final two seasons with the Colorado Rockies, accumulating -0.5 Wins Above Replacement from 2018-2019, but the 34-year–old reliever really turned things around in 2020.
Pitching with the World Series LA Dodgers, McGee made 24 appearances, recording a 2.66 ERA (1.67 FIP), a .184 average against, and a 0.84 WHIP. He also posted a remarkable 41.8% strikeout rate and a career-low 3.8% walk rate across 20.1 innings.
McGee averaged 94.9 mph with his four-seam fastball last season. It’s not the 97 mph he used to average as a younger pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays, but McGee’s fastball hasn’t averaged higher than 94 mph since 2017, so his shortened 2020 campaign was a big step in the right direction on multiple fronts.
If the New York Mets believe last season wasn’t a fluke, McGee may cost a bit more money, but his value would be worth the contract.
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The Mets have been rumored to be active all off-season and they have made a few moves to improve the roster, but you have to imagine the big move is on the way. Adding one of these bullpen arms doesn’t qualify as the “big move” but singing any one (or two) names on this list would improve the New York Mets roster heading into the 2021 season.