New York Mets Sandy Alderson Adds Finishing Touches To Bullpen
New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was hard at work on Friday. He signed three relief pitchers, putting the final touches on the Mets bullpen for the 2017 season.
Since re-signing slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes back in November, the New York Mets have not made any big splashes in free agency. It has been a relatively quiet offseason for the team. On Friday however, they made a few additions to their bullpen.
Alderson’s first move of the day was signing left-hander Tom Gorzelanny to a minor league deal. The 34-year-old spent time with the Cleveland Indians last season. He struggled during the little playing time that he saw, going 1-0 with a 21.00 ERA in seven appearances.
The Indians designated him for assignment in July. Although Gorzelanny has not pitched well at the Major League level over the past few years, the signing could still pay off in the end. A few years ago, he was actually a decent relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Gorzelanny gets $1M in majors, plus $1.8M incentives. #mets
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 3, 2017
The Mets are not paying him a lot of money, and there is a chance that he will not even make the team. Gorzelanny received an invite to spring training, and can opt-out of his contract on March 24 if he is not on the MLB roster.
The next deal that was announced was the re-signing of right-hander Fernando Salas. He will reportedly make $3 million in 2017 and can earn an extra $350,000 in incentives.
Source: #Mets bringing back free-agent reliever Fernando Salas. Deal will be pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 3, 2017
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Salas, 31, was traded to the Mets from the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim in August of last season. He went 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 17 games for the Mets. There is a good chance that Salas will be the main seventh inning man this season, especially considering how impressive he looked last year.
Alderson was not done yet. The final and perhaps most important move that he made on Friday was the re-signing of lefty specialist Jerry Blevins.
The Mets and Blevins were finally able to agree to a deal after weeks of negotiations. He will receive about $6 million guaranteed this season. The contract also includes an option for next year.
In 73 appearances last season, Blevins was 4-2 with an ERA of 2.79. A successful bullpen almost always includes a guy whose strength is getting left-handed hitters out. The Mets now have their dependable lefty specialist back, holding off the Los Angeles Dodgers.
#Mets deal with Blevins is for about $6 million guaranteed.
— Ken Davidoff (@KenDavidoff) February 4, 2017
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As a result of these three additions, the Mets bullpen is now well-equipped for the 2017 season. Alderson went to work on Friday and made a few much-needed signings. We will see if they pay off this year.