If the weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds didn’t already make it clear, the Mets will be looking for bullpen help at the trade deadline on July 31. President of baseball operations David Stearns confirmed as much Monday during his regular homestand media availability.
“We’ve been hit with injuries to the pitching staff, I think specifically the bullpen, so we will be active there,” Stearns said before the Mets opened a series against the Los Angeles Angels at Citi Field. “I think providing some reinforcements in the bullpen would be great. There are generally relievers traded at the deadline, so I’m sure there will be some this year as well, and we’ll be involved in that.”
The Mets lost four five pitchers for the season, currently have two on minor league rehab assignments, and another starter on the 60-day injured list. Increasingly, the club is forced to rely on a group of relievers who get shuttled back and forth from Triple-A to the Major Leagues. Earlier this month, the Mets were down to a four-man rotation, forced to use a bulk reliever from Triple-A to cover 4-5 innings every five days, and the bullpen to cover the rest.
It hasn’t been sustainable, but still, the Mets wanted to see what they had in some of these pitchers.
This group includes Brandon Waddell, a 28-year-old left-hander who has made 10 appearances and thrown 27 innings for the Mets this season after pitching in Asia the last three seasons; right-hander Justin Hagenman, a 31-year-old who made his big league debut with the Mets this season and has thrown 12 1/3 Major League innings over four appearances (one start); right-hander Chris Devenski, who won a World Series with the Houston Astros in 2017, and several other relievers in the system, who have eaten innings to varying degrees of success this season.
“We’ve put those guys in tough spots — I mean, those are not easy jobs,” Stearns said. “You’re on a plane at 6 a.m., you show up here, sometimes for the first time, and we throw you right in the game at 7 p.m. It’s tough, and we’ve had to do that more than I would like over the past two, three weeks, for sure.”
It’s a tough balancing act since four of five starting pitchers are currently working on limited pitch-counts, whether it’s because of injury (Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Kodai Senga), or load management (converted starter Clay Holmes). Getting the ball to closer Edwin Diaz isn’t easy right now.
Fans who came to Citi Field on Friday night to kick off a weekend celebrating David Wright were upset to see Alex Carrillo, a former indy-ball pitcher, and Waddell getting some runway against the Cincinnati Reds, a legitimate Wild Card-contending team, especially since the bullpen was rested coming out of the All-Star Break.
What manager Carlos Mendoza couldn’t say at the time was that he couldn’t deplete the bullpen with Holmes pitching the next day, and Senga going Monday.
“Some of that is because of injuries, some of that is because we haven’t pitched very well at times and we’ve needed fresh arms,” Stearns said. “But those are tough jobs, and I think those guys have performed admirably in sometimes very difficult situations.”
With the relief corps responsible for 19 losses, it’s clear the Mets need pitching upgrades. They might also insulate themselves with a starter as well, especially since Blade Tidwell’s two starts had mixed results, but right-handers Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn will be back to restore the depth at some point.
Stearns is happy with the position player groupings, including the young infielders. Center field is an area where the Mets aren’t getting the offensive production expected, but he doesn’t see it as a problem. Stearns likes what Tyrone Taylor brings defensively, and with Jeff McNeil producing offensively, it makes it easier to maximize his defensive versatility and use him in center field, a position he’s been asking the Mets to let him play since he was drafted out of Long Beach State in 2013.
As a center fielder, McNeil has 0 Outs Above Average and an 80% success rate. At the plate, his .813 OPS is the third-highest on the team.
“I think I’d be comfortable with the type of distribution we presently have,” he said. “We’ve seen Jeff get a little more comfortable out there, and so if we continue to see that type of progress, yeah, I’d be comfortable.”
There’s nothing precluding the Mets from making a move now, but the market simply isn’t there yet. With 10 days to go until the deadline, there is little separation between contenders. There are seven teams with 58 or more wins, four teams in the NL within 5.0 games of a Wild Card playoff spot, and five in the AL. Teams are still trying to assess their rosters and their chances of making a run.
“There are conversations and that’s normal for 10 days out,” Stearns said. “It’s also normal that it often doesn’t get really serious until two or three days out as you get closer to the deadline. But there is industry conversation going on now, for sure.”
