Hello my friends and welcome back once again! Well, last week we finished up our assembling of the potential position players the 2010 Mets may employ. Now it’s time for us to concern our attention with the pitching aspect of the club. As you all remember I’m sure, when Billy Wagner went down with his injury at the end of 2008, the bullpen as a whole was thrown into flux, and the end result was a second straight collapse. The ’09 offseason provided the Mets with closer Frankie Rodriguez and set-up man JJ Putz, both who were supposed to be significant upgrades, but both men struggled during their time in the Big Apple. The bullpen this offseason certainly isn’t the largest hole the Mets currently have, but nonetheless it can use a little bit of retooling. Let’s take a look.
To start off, K-Rod’s contract guarantees he’ll be in the fold no matter what, but I think all of us should expect more out of him in 2010. He was not fantastic by any stretch, blowing 7 saves (some of them in ridiculous fashions) and finishing the year with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP, which is absolutely unacceptable for a closer. We can chalk it up to a "1st year in New York adjustment period", whatever, bottom line is, K-Rod needs to be more of a sure thing in 2010, he was very shaky all season long. Brain Stokes and Pedro Feliciano also had fine years and should be returning. Bobby Parnell’s bullpen numbers look like a million bucks compared to the trash he posted as a starter. The Mets need to slot Parnell snuggly into the bullpen, and not move him whatsoever! Another interesting return candidate could be Elmer Dessens. Dessens, 3.31 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 2009, in all honestly surprised me with his solid work and should be considered as the Mets potential long reliever/spot starter role. Nelson Figueroa is another man who may be considered for that spot. If the Mets want to dive outside the organization for that piece, Darren Oliver, who some could say resurrected his career in 2006 with the Mets, is back on the free agent market after completing his 3 year pact with the Angels. Oliver pitched phenomenally for all 3 of those seasons; it would be great to see him back in orange and blue.
The biggest needs the team has as far as the 2010 bullpen is concerned would be the set-up man, and an additional LOOGY to spell Feliciano from time to time. The Mets use Feliciano so frequently, I’m afraid one of these days he’ll blow his arm out and we’ll lose him in a close playoff race or playoff series. The most interesting name I see on the market to complement Feliciano is Scott Eyre. Ever since he arrived in Philadelphia midway through the 2008 season, Eyre has been amazing. With the Phillies, he posted ERA’s of 1.88 and 1.50 respectively, while holding lefties to .220 and .210 clips respectively as well. Bottom line, this guy gets his job done, and is someone the Mets seriously need to examine closely this winter. Snagging away a key cog from Philadelphia’s bullpen would be like already having a heads up advantage on the Phillies. I think that could be just what the Mets need, not to mention the insight Eyre could provide the Mets with regarding Philly’s other pitchers. Scott Eyre to the Mets anyone? As for the set-up role, the Mets need a guy that can blend with K-Rod to make ballgames 7 innings long. One free agent who may have the potential to do this is Octavio Dotel. The guy throws hard, strikes a lot of batters out, and has already expressed a desire to return to New York to pitch. He’s been consistently good over the course of his career, and god forbid if K-Rod was to go down with an injury, Dotel does have a little bit of closing experience on his resume.
In addition to the men I listed above, the sky is the limit as far as minor league signings go. The Mets should look to ink as many men as they can for depth purposes. It always seems that during spring training, one reliever always comes out of no place to pitch lights out baseball. Can the Mets obtain a little ‘lightning in a bottle’ with someone unexpected? You never know. What do you guys think? Like the bullpen blueprint, or hate it? What would you do differently? Do you consider Octavio Dotel and Scott Eyre as guys that the Mets should without question look to lock down for 2010? Do you prefer Dessens, Oliver, or Figueroa in the long man/spot starter role? Let me know what you guys think. Comment below, I look forward to hearing your suggestions. As always my loyal readers, thanks for stopping by my blog!
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