Despite Correa news, don’t overlook New York Mets bullpen moves

The New York Mets have reportedly signed Carlos Correa after he reportedly failed a physical with the San Francisco Giants. The Giants were expected to pay Correa $350 million over 13 years. In one of the biggest twist of the MLB offseason, the Mets are only paying him $315 million over 12 years.

While the New York Mets signing Carlos Correa is the big news, don’t overlook the team’s bullpen’s moves this offseason

The bullpen was one of the biggest concerns for the New York Mets this offseason. They took another step in addressing this by resigning Adam Ottavino to a deal for two years and $14.5 million with an opt-out. This brought the Mets projected payroll to a whopping $356 million before the luxury tax penalties. The penalties would be a record-breaking $86 million.

The crazy part is that they might not even be done. There are now rumors of a trade for Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks. The Mets could also trade some players like James McCann and Carlos Carrasco to offset some salary. In the bullpen already, they’ve resigned Edwin Diaz, signed David Robertson, and traded for Tampa Bay Rays reliever Brooks Raley. They lost Seth Lugo and Joely Rodriguez in free agency.

Diaz and Ottavino

Resigning Diaz (originally acquired by New York in a much-discussed trade) was the most important thing since he was arguably the best reliever in baseball. Although it’s questionable if he’ll hold up through the five-year deal at a record-breaking $102 million for a closer. Ottavino has had an up-and-down career, but last year he was on with an ERA of 2.06 with 79 strikeouts in 65 innings. His 0.97 WHIP tells the whole story. If he has command of his slider, he’s virtually unhittable. He cut his walks in half, walking just 16 batters last season. At age 37, this could very well be his last contract.

Raley and Robertson

Brooks Raley was an underrated pickup. The lefty can provide some much-needed balance and will be a welcomed upgrade over Rodriguez. Raley struck out 61 batters in 53 innings with an ERA of 2.68. Robertson is dependable and he has handled New York before. The moment won’t be too big for him. It’s important to find guys with the right makeup for the New York market. Robertson is 37, but still got it done with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. His curveball is as good as ever and it helped him get 81 strikeouts in 64 innings. His ERA of 2.40 was equally impressive.

Liam Hendriks trade?

Hendriks had a little bit of a down year for his standards with an ERA of 2.84. He also had four blown saves and losses. He would be the perfect setup man for Diaz and he would make the Mets bullpen elite. With one year left on his deal at $17 million, the Mets won’t have to break the bank to get him. If they dealt one of their infield prospects such as Ronny Mauricio or Mark Vientos, that should be enough to get it done. The Mets have a surplus of infielders and could afford to trade one of them.

With or without Hendriks, the Mets bullpen, on paper, is in great shape for 2023.