Another reliever signed, but who is going to pitch the eighth inning for the Mets?

Also - the Mets haven't discussed a contract extension with Pete Alonso, yet.

What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets agreed to sign RHP Jorge López to a one-year, $2 million contract (ESPN)

• The Mets have not yet discussed a contract extension with Pete Alonso (Newsday)

• MLB is expecting to conclude its Billy Eppler/Mets investigation before the end of the year (Newsday)

---

---

Who is the Mets 8th inning reliever?✍️

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into 2023, the Mets were confident they’d assembled a dominant back end of the bullpen. Edwin Díaz was firmly established as the premier closer in the game. David Robertson had 157 Major League saves on his own resume and had come to Queens knowing he was going to pitch the eigth inning.

We all know how the story played out from there.

Diaz was lost for the season while pitching for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, moving everyone up a spot in the New York bullpen. Robertson was excellent as the Mets closer, but the rest of the relief corps struggled to consistently get him the ball, and he was ultimately traded to Miami at the deadline.

Fast forward and here we are again wondering how the Mets bullpen is going to shake out. Only this time, there are even more holes for the Mets to fill.

Díaz is expected to be fully healthy and ready to go with no limitations in spring training, which will obviously represent a colossal boon for this team both physically on the field and emotionally.

But how are they getting the ball to him on a nightly basis?

David Stearns and company have made a bunch of seemingly peripheral and depth relief additions so far this winter. Austin Adams, Michael Tonklin, Jorge López, and Kyle Crick have all been added via free agency.

But that group does little to move the needle for a relief corps that was largely a liability for the Mets a season ago. They are peripheral, depth-type of roster moves in large measure, with López and maybe Adams providing the greatest upside.

Bullpen incumbents Brooks Raley and Drew Smith are still there, but neither seems poised to take the eighth inning job and run with it.

Sure, Raley was solid in 2023, but most of the time he was the Mets lone southpaw in relief and that’s really not his role anyway. He’s more valuable when he can be situationally utilized against opposing teams top left-handed hitters. Smith on the other hand struggled through the most disappointing year of his career, and while he will likely be better in 2024, he’s more of a middle reliever until he proves otherwise.

All of this to say that from where I’m sitting, the Mets have simply have to add at least one high leverage late inning reliever before spring training, if not two.

Personally, I think I’d reach out to Robertston who is currently a free-agent, and propose attempting 2023’s plan again. He’s obviously comfortable in New York, and was on board with setting up for Diaz a year ago. It’s worth finding out if his sentiment remains the same. In addition, a strikeout pitcher like Jordan Hicks would be interesting. Injuries have obviously limited him of late, but his ceiling would also be higher than the other guys the Mets have been taking chances on.

There’s also Aroldis Chapman, Héctor Neris, and other swing-and-miss arms available in free agency.

Another option that doesn’t seem to currently be on the table has to do with Tylor Megill. The big righty has spent parts of the last three seasons pitching in New York’s rotation to mostly pedestrian results. He owns a lifetime 4.72 ERA in 58 career outings, and while he’s certainly shown glimpses of being a reliable middle of the rotation starter, the consistency has just never been there.

The thing about Megill, though, is that he can hit triple digits on the radar gun when he’s going full bore, and he projects as someone who, if he could get comfortable in relief, could potentially thrive. If all he had to do was come in the game in the eighth inning, empty the tank and try to get three outs, his velocity would play up and it could make his secondary pitches more lethal.

Now, of course, the Mets rotation is currently in flux, and if they ultimately fail in their pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the starting will be in big trouble. And with David Peterson set to miss the early portion of the upcoming campaign, the team will likely have no choice but to use Megill as a starter. David Stearns said so earlier this week at the winter meetings.

Of course, a trade could be a possibility too, but Stearns has made it abundantly clear he will not part with the type of prospect capital it would require to deal for a proven late inning arm.

Regardless of how they do it, though, the Mets cannot go into 2024 with the same bullpen they currently have on paper, and they know it. It will be fascinating to see how this ultimately unfolds.

---

Hot Stove 🔥

• The Giants and Padres both have interest in CF Harrison Bader (Morosi)

• Carlyle Group founder David Rubenstein is in negotiations to purchase the Baltimore Orioles (Bloomberg Pursuits)

• The Yankees have interest in RHP Jordan Hicks (Feinsand)

• The Astros signed switch-hitting catcher Victor Caratini (Feinsand)

• Baltimore is interested in long-term extensions for both Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday (MASN)

• The White Sox signed RHP Jake Cousins to a minor league contract (MiLB Transactions)