The next Mets bullpen...

David Stearns could be tasked with completely reconstructing the club's bullpen over the next four months

What’s Up With the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets will hire Troy Snitker to be their next hitting coach (SNY)

• Assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel is heading back to the Yankee coaching staff following the departure of Jeremy Hefner (NY Post)

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Reconstructing the pain point that was the bullpen ✍🏻

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This winter, David Stearns will once again be reconstructing the Mets bullpen and, depending on whether or not Edwin Díaz stays or goes, will have to reimagine the entirety of the end of games.

To recap, the Mets bullpen had a 3.93 ERA in 2025, dead smack in the middle of the pack in MLB this past year. A lot of that had Díaz’s outstanding season built in, as Stearns made wholesale changes to the bullpen at the trade deadline in an effort to become more swing and miss. All-in-all, the Mets bullpen was just as mediocre in their ability to strike people to the tune of 8.79 strikeouts per nine innings, 14th best in MLB. They were in the top third in walk rate, coming in ninth at 3.28 walks per nine, the top third in home run rate at 0.93 homers per nine, and of course, they had a 3.80 FIP which was the ninth best in baseball.

They were definitely overworked and misused thanks to the rotation’s inability to perform and go deep into games, which ultimately impacted their performance as well, especially after June 13 when the entire pitching staff was mired in pure chaos.

That FIP can probably be improved in a couple of ways.

First, the Mets bullpen needs to be more swing-and-miss overall. With their strikeout rate right in the middle of the pack, the bullpen played pretty much into the Mets’ weaknesses defensively, which in turn likely inflated the club’s bullpen ERA overall. So, improving their strikeout rates will reduce the number of balls in play, and improve the bullpen’s performance organically that way.

Second, as I said, they need better defensive players. This is what Stearns harped on at the end of the season when he said yes, they need better pitchers but also better defensive players to support the pitchers’ strengths while protecting their weaknesses.

Ideally, the Mets will want ground ball pitchers up and down the staff. But of course, they need better infield defense to support that strategy.

Now, again, the bullpen is likely to look a lot different in 2025 than it did last year. So while the above applies, I think it applies universally especially with the club’s overall propensity to pitch to contact and induce ground balls.

So, who from 2025 is likely to be here in the bullpen when camp opens in four months?

AJ Minter (player option)
Brooks Raley (club option)
Drew Smith (club option)

Yep, that’s all I would bet on. And that’s not an inspiring group considering Minter is coming back from lat surgery, and Smith hasn’t pitched in a year and a half. Remember, they will be without Dedniel Núñez, Reed Garrett, Max Kranick, Tylor Megill, and Danny Young, who were all lost to Tommy John Surgery in 2025, although Young could return sometime during the 2026 season. The rest are gone until 2027.

New York Post

The Mets do have the following relievers on their 40-man roster as of right now, in addition to the above, although some are DFA and/or non-tender candidates this winter:

Huascar Brazoban
Alex Carrillo
Justin Hagenman
Jonathan Pintaro
Dylan Ross
Brandon Waddell
Austin Warren

Díaz can opt out of his deal, and it’s far from a certainty he will return if he does so. That means the Mets could be in the market for a closer. Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley, Pete Fairbanks, Raisel Iglesias, Kyle Finnegan, and Kenley Jansen headline the closers market as alternatives for the Mets, although there are legitimate questions about Williams and his ability to perform in New York, and we know what happened with Helsley here as well, albeit in an unfamiliar role behind Díaz this past summer.

Iglesias and Jansen can probably be had at shorter-term and less expensive alternatives to Díaz if he walks. They’re not getting any younger, however, but they did have strong seasons in 2025, although Jansen’s peripheral stats and metrics were concerning.

I could also see the Mets pursuing a current closer to pitch in a setup role, although that playing out the Mets way is always less likely in free agency.

Alternatively, the Mets could look internally for a closer if Díaz walks, although that doesn’t feel like the likely path. If they had to, though, maybe they’d consider Ross, who was called up on the last day of the season. He’s a hard thrower but has classic control problems. Time and maturity could fix that, which could in turn make Ross a viable bullpen option at a minimum for them during the 2026 season. It’s also been floated in the media that perhaps the Mets could look at Jonah Tong as a closer, but my gut says he’s going back to Triple-A to start the year in their rotation, along with Brandon Sproat and Christian Scott, the latter of whom will be a year and a half removed from Tommy John Surgery by then. Both are too valuable in the medium term as starting pitchers to transition them into a bullpen role, and it would deviate from Stearns’ plan to home-grow their rotation.

As for the rest of the bullpen, who knows right now? But what we do know is this: 1) they need to be even more swing-and-miss in 2026, 2) there are no shortages of options available this winter, as is the case every winter, 3) this market isn’t likely to fully evolve until the middle of January.

It remains unclear if the Mets decide to bring in another left-handed reliever. Yes, they have both Minter and Raley, but Minter is an unknown, and Raley isn’t a spring chicken and is just a year removed from Tommy John surgery. He was outstanding and aside from Díaz, the Mets’ best reliever in 2025. But they were very careful with his deployment plan, which limited his availability down the stretch.

Seranthony Dominguez, Hunter Harvey, Tyler Rogers, Brad Keller, and Michael Kopech are all intriguing, late-game options from the right side for the Mets. On the left side, there’s José Alvarado (potentially), Danny Coulombe, Taylor Rogers, Drew Pomeranz, Wandy Peralta, and Caleb Ferguson are all intriguing options on the left side.

Maybe the Mets will sign the Rogers brothers this winter? At least it would give us a talking point all year long.

All told, the Mets need to find 10-15 Major League-capable relievers this winter, some of which they’ll stockpile at Syracuse as insurance.