New York Mets: Five lessons learned in the first half of 2019
By Ed Stein
2. A premium on relief pitching
In 2018, Edwin Diaz was almost automatic for Seattle in save situations. He made the American League All-Star team, was A.L. reliever of the month four times, and reliever of the year. Trading for Diaz was a big coup by BVW. Additionally, so was bringing back last season’s closer Familia to set him up.
Wow, that plan shortcircuited. It shouldn’t have, but it did. Familia has been awful with a 7.76 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, and five home runs allowed in 29 innings pitched. He certainly isn’t the same pitcher Alderson sent to Oakland at last season’s trade deadline. Diaz has been a shell of the dominator he was in 2018. This year, he’s blown as many saves halfway through as he did all of last season.
Unfortunately, the end of the game isn’t the only problem with the bullpen. As a whole, the relief staff has crumpled like an old seersucker suit. Going into Saturday, they have the third-worst ERA on the season at 5.63. Much like the overall team performance, they keep getting worse. Since May 11, the New York Mets bullpen has the highest ERA in the league 6.57. As hard as it is to believe, the downhill slide is getting steeper. Since June 1, the relief pitcher’s combined ERA is 7.53.
It’s not just Diaz and Familia. Seth Lugo‘s 3.43 earned run average this year makes him the only Mets reliever who has thrown over 7.1 innings for the team and has an ERA under 4.82. In an era where complete games are becoming unicorns, it’s imperative to have a strong and deep bullpen. Hopefully, a healthy Justin Wilson, another offseason free-agent acquisition, can stabilize the relief corps going forward. If not, BVW should blow it up and reassemble a new one for 2020.