The Mets this season added two arms to the system while the average MLB team added 15. That being said, I feel better about the bullpen this year than I have in previous years. Let’s take a look at the Opening Day bullpen for the last couple of seasons and compare:
2014 Bullpen: Familia, German, Lannan, Parnell, Rice, Torres, Valverde (+ Farnsworth the almost immediate injury to Parnell, +Mejia in the rotation)
2013 Bullpen: Parnell, Lyon, Hawkins, Atchinson, Edgin, Rice, Burke
2012 Bullpen: Francisco, Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Byrdak, Parnell, Acosta, Batista
2011 Bullpen: K-Rod, T. Buchholz, Beato, Byrdak, Carrasco, Boyer
And now the projected 2015 Opening Day Bullpen:
Familia, Mejia, Parnell, Edgin, Black, Gee + Additional Lefty
Doesn’t that look so much better than previous years? Although it would be nice to have an established closer, not the closer by committee we are most likely to have, there are three pitchers in our pen that could legitimately close. Plus, this year could be a breakout year for both Black and Edgin. In addition, Gee as the long man is so much better than our long men in recent history (Lannan, Torres, Acosta, Batista, Carrasco).
This year’s pen doesn’t have the veteran, outside of Gee, but has a lot of upside. With the volatile nature of bullpens, the downside doesn’t seem any worse than the downside of any pen we’ve had in previous years. Plus, in addition to this set of arms, the Mets have the Rule V pick (who may or may not break camp), Leathersich (who also may or may not break camp), and Montero that can join the pen. If the Mets decide to get real crazy, when Syndergaard joins this year, they can shuffle more players in and out of the pen.
In short, it’s hard to predict bullpens, but there is something about this years pen that feels better than previous years. Maybe it’s because we’ve had 6 of 7 pitchers on the team the previous year, so they are all the devil we know, but I’m excited.
