New York Mets: Winners and Losers from Opening Week

Winner: Mets Bullpen 

While the New York Mets starting pitching is what everyone thought would anchor them to victory, the bullpen did a tremendous job in securing victory this week. With solid, but not dominating, starts from Syndergaard and deGrom, the bullpen was tasked with small margins for error. Even in Harvey’s scoreless effort, the bullpen entered the game with no score on the board.

Each time the bullpen was given a lead, they secured it. The only runs suffered by the bullpen proved to be inconsequential to the outcome of the game. With strong performances from Jeurys Familia, Robert Gsellman, A.J. Ramos, Jerry Blevins, and a relief outing from Lugo, the bullpen secured each of the Mets’ four victories.

Familia locked down three saves in four innings of work in the first week. He did walk three batters which is not ideal for a closer, but Mets fans have become accustomed to Familia’s close-call saves. Ramos, who was acquired at the end of the 2017 season, was used in a few different roles, pitching both in the middle and late innings of games. Gsellman, who was moved from a starting role to the bullpen during spring training, showed that he can be a great tool in relief for the team. Gsellman pitched 3.2 innings while only allowing two hits and tallying seven strikeouts in his first three outings of the season.

The main questions for the bullpen at this point is over their consistency moving forward. With Blevins as the only left-handed option out of the bullpen, the team hopes to avoid overworking him and other relief pitchers. In the early stages of this season, Callaway has not tested the length of his starting pitchers, which has led to a heavy workload for the bullpen early. While so far the relief squad has answered the call, they will need to sustain this success in order for the team to be contenders come September.