Friday, February 28

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 16 seasons full-time on the beat. This is the second part of a five-part Around the Horn series detailing the Mets’ roster heading into 2025. Next up: Bullpen.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- During his years in Milwaukee, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns developed a reputation for building successful bullpens. His knack for unearthing late-inning gems, often on the cheap, allowed the Brewers to remain competitive despite payrolls consistently in the bottom half of the Majors.

Stearns was an expert, in other words, in something the Mets spent years struggling to achieve. Developing useful bullpen arms has long been a challenge for this organization. Finding contributors from outside the organization has proven nearly as difficult. That trend mostly continued into the first half of last season, when injuries and other issues sunk the Opening Day bullpen to such an extent that Stearns needed to rebuild it on the fly.

From that point forward, the relief corps proved solid -- at times even a strength. Stearns subsequently broke character in investing significant dollars to maintain it this winter, signing Ryne Stanek and A.J. Minter to be his right-handed and left-handed setup men, respectively.

Plenty of others from 2024 will return, competing this spring with a small army of hopefuls. While the Mets won’t know for several months if this bullpen can be a true asset, Stearns has equipped it in such a way that some additional success stories should surface over the course of the summer.

On the 40-man roster: Edwin Díaz, Ryne Stanek, A.J. Minter, Dedniel Núñez, Reed Garrett, José Buttó, Sean Reid-Foley, Huascar Brazobán, Kevin Herget, Max Kranick, Austin Warren, Danny Young, Tyler Zuber

On the 60-day IL: Drew Smith

Notable departures: Phil Maton, Adam Ottavino

Top 30 prospects: None

Non-roster invitees: Ty Adcock, Adbert Alzolay, Génesis Cabrera, Chris Devenski, Rico Garcia, Anthony Gose, Grant Hartwig, Oliver Ortega, Yacksel Ríos

The back-end locks
Even coming off a down season (by his standards), Díaz remains one of the league’s top closers. He’s under contract for three more seasons but has an opt-out after 2025, making this a platform year for Díaz.

The eighth inning should belong largely to Stanek and Minter -- provided the latter is healthy. He had left hip labrum surgery in September and is in a slow spring progression because of it. But if Minter isn’t ready for Opening Day, he should be back shortly thereafter.

The likely suspects
Núñez, Garrett and Buttó all enjoyed breakout seasons in 2024 and will return to similar roles this year. But uncertainty still surrounds Núñez, who missed most of the second half with a right flexor injury and isn’t close to pitching in Grapefruit League games. Like Minter, Núñez will be on the Opening Day roster if healthy, but there’s a chance the Mets give him an extra week or two to prep. One other likely suspect is Reid-Foley, who’s recovered from a right shoulder impingement and is out of Minor League options. He’s as good a bet as anyone to be in the Opening Day bullpen.

Any competition?
If Núñez and Minter are both healthy enough to make the team, that will leave only one spot up for grabs. Young stands out as another left-hander boasting solid metrics. He’s also out of options, giving the Mets incentive to carry him. Should Núñez and/or Minter miss time, it would open the door for pitchers like Kranick, Warren and others. Remember, the Opening Day roster is only the roster for one day. That’s truer in the bullpen than anywhere.

What about the future?
Much will depend upon Díaz’s opt-out decision (and whether the Mets decide to pursue him if he does reenter free agency). Stearns isn’t the type of GM who loves committing long-term dollars to relievers, but Díaz’s departure would leave a notable hole.

As far as younger pitchers, it’s rare for bullpen arms to rank among an organization’s Top 30 Prospects, because standout relievers tend to be converted starting pitching prospects. But the Mets have at least one intriguing Minor Leaguer in right-hander Ryan Lambert, a high-leverage reliever from the University of Oklahoma who features a 100 mph fastball. The Mets selected Lambert in the eighth round of last year’s Draft, with hope that he could rapidly climb the Minor League ladder. Typically, relievers don’t need as much development time as starters.

Who is the Mets’ single-season holds leader? 

A) Pedro Feliciano 
B) Aaron Heilman 
C) Roger McDowell 
D) Addison Reed 

• When the Mets traded for outfielder Alexander Canario and signed pitcher José Ureña this week, they became the 69th and 70th players in Major League camp. It’s a massive number, affecting everything from workout schedules to kitchen inventories. (Sixty pounds of beef in a single meal?!) I caught up with strategy coach Danny Barnes, the man in charge of organizing camp, to see how he does it. It’s an interesting look at the sheer scale of the operation in Port St. Lucie. 

• Injuries to Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Nick Madrigal have changed the Mets’ Opening Day picture in significant ways. We broke down who stands to benefit in a mid-spring update to the projected Opening Day roster. 

• One man who suddenly makes a lot of sense to make that roster is Donovan Walton, who comes from a baseball family. Read more about his career, which includes connections to noted Oklahomans Jeremy Hefner and Matt Holliday.

D) Addison Reed 

Reed is the Mets’ single-season holds leader, and it’s not particularly close. Setting up Jeurys Familia in 2016, Reed recorded 40 holds to break Heilman’s franchise record of 27. Feliciano is the Mets’ career leader with 103. 

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