According to a report from Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the New York Mets have looked outside the organization for help fortifying its bullpen. The anecdote was part of a story from DiComo on the return of closer Edwin Diaz, who was serving a 10-game suspension after he was ejected for excessive use of “sticky stuff” during an outing on June 23.
Using ERA as a marker, Mets relief pitchers have been middle of the road, but the Queens bullpen pitchers have logged the second-most strikeouts in MLB according to FanGraphs (as well as the second-best strikeout rate of all 30 bullpens). New York’s bullpen has been called on for 31.1 innings during the suspension. About a third of those innings were rated as medium or high-leverage scenarios.
While that rate is not abnormal for the entire staff, DiComo’s reporting points out that several bullpen pitchers have been rotated on and off the roster in Diaz’s absence.
In general, the bullpen does not have a ton of mileage on it this year, with New York having pitched a 14th-highest 310.2 innings of relief. But it’s also rarely a bad idea to stock up on more arms, and the Mets are in a very different spot now than they were even weeks ago. New York is now just 2.5 games out of a playoff position, which may lead to New York being aggressive at the trade deadline.
Diaz will be eligible to return on Sunday.