Never Underestimate the Value of Solid Middle Relief

There are lessons that can be learned from the New York Mets falling a base hit away from the 2006 World Series besides don’t look at a first-pitch fastball down the heart of the plate.

Without the catalyst that was the Metsies’ relief corps that year, there’s no telling how close they would have come to Game 7 of the NLCS. That’s not hyperbole, either.

The Mets’ 2006 rotation — Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Steve Trachsel, Orlando Hernandez, and John Maine — put up a collective 4.67 ERA in 2006, good for middle-of-the-MLB pack (16th).

The value the bullpen brought to the table — an NL-best and second-in-the-majors 3.28 ERA — became the great equalizer and was an instrumental part of the equation in that club’s success.

Left-handed closer Billy Wagner signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Mets that offseason and earned every penny of his first year’s salary with a 2.24 ERA (2.84 FIP), 94 strikeouts, 21 walks, 1.11 WHIP, and a 196 ERA+.

Wags was the gravy on the top, but the guys behind him in the Mets’ bullpen pecking order were the meat and potatoes of that group, proving to be an invaluable asset before things were all said and done.

Without right-handed submariner Chad Bradford (2.90 ERA over 62 innings), fellow righty Duaner Sanchez (2.60 ERA over 55.1 innings, before jumping in an ill-fated taxi in Miami in August), and left-hander “Perpetual” Pedro Feliciano (2.09 ERA in 60.1 innings) carrying their weight, the Mets’ 16-game lead in the NL East on September 1 may not have been so cushy.

It took some time for right-hander Aaron Heilman, 27, to find his groove out of the bullpen (4.25 ERA from Opening Day through July 31), but things turned around considerably down the stretch, as the side-slotter posted a 2.28 ERA from August 1 on.

When Sanchez went down, right-hander Guillermo Mota — acquired from Cleveland for cash considerations shortly thereafter — stepped right in and performed terrifically, pitching to a 1.00 ERA over 18 appearances.

Solid bullpen depth is never a bad thing, which is why whenever Major League Baseball does start up again, the (hopefully) 2020 Mets will presumably be affording themselves a similar luxury — a relief corps that has all the ingredients to be a true difference-maker.

Though, in the present (and on paper), this group looks to be much stronger than Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Sanchez, and Bradford.

The ramifications of having Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia, and Justin Wilson performing simply at career means, respectively, could be huge.

Throw in Robert Gsellman and his relatively high ceiling, and Brad Brach and his newfound devastating cutter, and the Mets have all the tools necessary to compete out of the ‘pen.

Besides the undisputed plus of having a plethora of talented relief depth at manager Luis Rojas‘ disposal, keep in mind, the landscape of the Mets’ pitching staff has changed considerably since this group was assembled.

Losing Noah Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery) for the year, moving Marcus Stroman into the two-hole and setting Steven Matz, Rick Porcello, and Michael Wacha into place at the back-end is a big hurdle to clear for this roster.

In turn, more responsibility — and pressure, presumably — has been placed on this collection of power arms and masters of deception coming out of New York’s bullpen. This group could theoretically be a crutch for the Mets’ unexpectedly depleted rotation if they perform.

The 2006 Mets got where they did, in part, because of their bullpen rising to the challenge. There’s no reason the Mets’ 2020 relief corps can’t provide similar value to the Mets this season. Whenever that happens.