A few right-handed options to round out the Mets bullpen

Plus, a starting pitching option eluded the Mets and the rest of his east coast suitors late Thursday

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets re-signed Kevin Herget to a minor league deal (Athletic)

• Top international prospect SS Wandy Asigen opted out of his contract with the Yankees and is reportedly signing with the Mets (Athletic)

• Broadcaster Joe Buck is returning to baseball and will be calling a Mets and Dodgers game for ESPN next season (NY Post)

• Santa Clay Holmes and elves Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat handed out presents to children at the Mets annual holiday party (LoHud)

• Holmes is excited that former teammate Luke Weaver will be joining him in Queens (SNY)

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Rumor Mill 🔎

• The Phillies are likely trading LHP Matt Strahm this offseason (NBC Sports)

• Both Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman are unlikely to sign short-term deals after having to settle for one the last time they were free agents (CBS Sports)

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What I’m Reading 📖

• The youngest Mets attending the party represent a changing of the guard within the organization (LoHud)

• The success of the 2026 season could also depend on the young trio’s shoulders (NY Post)

• Tong and Sproat enjoy being with the team despite being a part of trade rumors this offseason (SNY)

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The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

In the latest bonus episode of the show – exclusively on Patreon – Rich MacLeod is joined by Deesha Thosar (FOX Sports) to discuss the growing pressure on David Stearns and Steve Cohen this winter…

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Is the Mets bullpen complete for the 2026 season? Not by a long shot! ✍️

Losing Michael King as a short-term option for the rotation on Thursday night was hardly ideal for the Mets. There was all this talk of him wanting to sign out east, but in the end, he returned to San Diego on three guaranteed years for Sean Manaea money with opt-outs for 2027 and 2028. That’s a good deal for King considering his recent history, and presumably not something the Mets or any of his other suitors on the east coast wanted to entertain.

Even so, the Mets still haven’t touched their rotation yet this winter. And, unless you like the Mets flavor of Run Prevention Kool-Aid that much and were living under a rock in 2025, that was, by far, their biggest problem which led to their demise.

Anyway, more on that later. I am here today to discuss the Mets bullpen which is better but still a problem.

While it has not been officially announced, RHP Luke Weaver is the latest addition to the Mets bullpen, joining Devin Williams as the two big arms acquired by David Stearns this offseason. The duo will complete the back end of the bullpen in 2026 as the set-up man and the closer and will be joining AJ Minter and Brooks Raley as the only locks for the bullpen right now.

For the time being, they have Huascar Brazobán, Justin Hagenman, Richard Lovelady, Alex Carillo, Joey Gerber, Dylan Ross, and Austin Warren and perhaps Albert Alzolay, whom they signed to a two-year deal last offseason after he underwent Tommy John surgery. He pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League in November, so he should be healthy for the start of spring training for the Mets. The rest are either all gone (Edwin Diaz, Max Kranick, Ryne Stanek, Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers) or all hurt (Reed Garrett, Dedniel Núñez, Danny Young), or both (Kranick).

And, don’t forget - Minter might not be ready for Opening Day.

So the question remains: has Stearns done enough to revamp the bullpen? That answer is probably pretty easy to figure out, isn’t it?

While he did add Williams and Weaver, there’s still an obvious gap the Mets need to cover between the losses and the pitchers on the shelf recovering from Tommy John surgery. Minter looked to be a great addition before his injury last season, and Raley looked great when he returned from Tommy John surgery, so those two along with the duo at the backend should make a solid core of relievers, but beyond that, it gets thin quickly. Brazobán, on paper, had a solid 2025 season going 5-2 with a 3.57 ERA, but he can be volatile - he got off to a fantastic start with his confidence riding high, but then that crumbled as the season rolled on and he struggled, which earned him a demotion to Triple-A last season.

Alzolay is certainly an intriguing option since he has found success in the past. He had a phenomenal 2023 season, saving 22 games for Chicago while sporting a sparkling 2.67 ERA that year. The following year, he struggled, but he did undergo Tommy John surgery after appearing in just 18 games with the Cubs. He is not currently on the 40-man roster, so should he win a roster spot in spring, the team would need to somehow clear a spot for him.

Lovelady, Hagenman, and Warren all saw time with the big league club in 2025, but while they are fine in a pinch, they probably should not be bullpen mainstays in 2026. So that would mean the team would need to acquire at least one more arm to solidify the bullpen.

While acquiring elite reliever Mason Miller from the Padres would be an awesome get, the addition of Weaver probably makes it less likely the team goes that route. Pete Fairbanks would certainly also be a good target for Stearns. With the Rays last season, he had 27 saves and a 2.83 ERA. He is also a free agent, so the team could keep their prospect capital for another trade or to help the 2026 Mets team.

But if he wants to close, this won’t be a fit for him.

Seranthony Dominguez and Taylor Rogers (identical twin of Tyler Rogers) are two other free agents that would be solid additions to the bullpen. Rogers was 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA between the Reds and Cubs last year, and Dominguez went 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA for the Orioles and AL Champion Blue Jays last season. Dominguez was a key component in Toronto’s run to Game 7 of the World Series, giving them five scoreless appearances (despite a lot of walks) against the Dodgers. Other right-handed options could include (but not limited to) Nick Martínez, Tommy Kahnle, Pierce Johnson, and Jonathan Loaisiga.

If the Mets’ newest wave of young guns are all major league ready, they could opt to move one of them to the bullpen. Christian Scott is an option since he will be returning after Tommy John surgery, and they could consider doing that with Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat as well as part of their developmental process. Doing that isn’t unheard of - Stearns’s Brewers did that with Freddy Peralta when he first came to the big leagues.

Even if the Mets decide to use their young pitchers in the bullpen, they’ll still need a stronger group of relievers to support that endeavor, and that doesn’t even sound like a primary option for the club as it stands today anyway. In an ideal world, they finish retooling this bullpen via trade or free agency and let Sproat, Scott, and Tong continue developing in the minors if they’re still here.

In other words, their work is not quite done if the front office wants the bullpen to be a strength of the team in 2026.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Padres are re-signing RHP Michael King to a three-year deal worth $75 million - they’re also signing RHP Triston McKenzie to a minor league deal (MLB.com | Just Baseball)

• Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will be joining fellow Cy Young winner Paul Skenes in the rotation for Team USA during the 2026 World Baseball Classic (ESPN)

• Free agent LHP John Means announced that he ruptured his Achilles tendon the same day he was supposed to sign with a major league team (ESPN)

• The White Sox acquired OF Tristan Peters after he was designated for assignment by the Rays (MLB.com)

• The Nationals hired 31-year-old former Phillies assistant GM Anirudh Kilambi to be their new general manager (MLB.com)