While the New York Mets are not expected to be overly active during the 2017 MLB Winter Meetings, it seems as though they are focused on replenishing their bullpen.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported on Monday that the Mets “expect” to acquire a reliever over the next few days in Orlando with free-agent Bryan Shaw atop their wanted list.
While the dismal 2017 season was highlighted by injuries that sapped any sort of hope of contention, the Mets bullpen was one of the worst in the league. With a 4.29 ERA, they ranked 29th in the majors. Only the rebuilding Detroit Tigers had a worse bullpen ERA.
Much of that had to do with the reliance on unproven and struggling arms.
With closer Jeurys Familia sidelined for a considerable portion of the season with a blood clot in his shoulder, the Mets had to shuffle things around, including moving Addison Reed to the closer role. Reed wouldn’t last the full season in New York as he was dealt to the Red Sox, forcing the team to turn to subpar options:
2017 leading Mets relievers by innings pitched
1. Paul Sewald- 65.1 IP, 4.55 ERA
2. Hansel Robles- 56.2 IP, 4.92 ERA
3. Josh Smoker- 56.1 IP, 5.11 ERA
The Mets have a trio of arms in Familia, AJ Ramos and Jerry Blevins that they can rely on in the later innings come 2018, but Shaw can further bolster things in the pen.
The 30-year-old is coming off the best season of his career, appearing in a league-leading 79 games while posting a 2.96 ERA with 73 strikeouts in just 76.2 innings with the Cleveland Indians.
