Three Free Agents Who Could Bolster Mets’ Bullpen

While the offseason has seen its lulls, no market has moved slower than the reliever pool. Position players like Juan Soto, who signed a historic 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets, and Willy Adames (SF Giants) are off the board, and even pitchers like Blake Snell (Dodgers) and Max Fried (Yankees) have found homes for the foreseeable future. While the Mets solved one big puzzle to their pitching woes by re-signing Sean Manaea to a three-year, $75 million deal, they might still need to add one more starter and work on their bullpen. However, the reliever market isn’t necessarily stacked, although headlined by flame-thrower southpaw Tanner Scott.

The Mets’ 2024 bullpen was a carousel of rotating players, although mainstays who will return in 2025 are closer Edwin Díaz, Reed Garrett, Dedniel Núñez, José Buttó and Huascar Brazobán. Notable losses entering the 2025 campaign are Drew Smith, Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley. The team has made a handful of depth signings so far, the most notable bullpen addition being Griffin Canning (a natural starter who could transition to a similar role like Buttó). Sean Reid-Foley is a candidate for the bullpen, too, if healthy.

With the names stated above, the Mets can add around three more arms to their bullpen for 2025. The pen has been a weak spot for the team for the past few years. Below are a few players the team can add to bolster their relief core and solidify the 2025 team.

Tanner Scott

Brooks Raley’s early season-ending injury hurt the Mets big time in 2024. They were without a reliable reliever, and while Danny Young did a fine job filling in, the team needs a reliable, high-end southpaw in the pen for 2025. Scott, without a doubt, is the best reliever available this offseason. Over his eight-year career, the lefty owns a career 3.56 ERA through 368 ⅔  innings pitched. He’s saved 55 games, struck out 486 batters and walked 202. Scott had a career year in 2024, splitting his time between Miami and San Diego. He earned his first All-Star nod, saved a career-high 22 games, and finished the year with a career-best 1.75 ERA.

While the 30-year-old struggles with walks (he ranked in the seventh percentile with a 12.2% walk percentage in 2024), he makes up for it nearly everywhere else. Scott finished in the 90th percentile in expected ERA (2.96) and expected batting average (.200), 91st percentile in fastball velocity (97 mph), and 100th percentile in average exit velocity (84.3 mph). A two-pitch threat, he throws a four-seamer and slider. His four-seamer had the seventh-best run value in baseball in 2024 (17), with an expected batting average of .184 and slugging of .252.

Left-handed hitters have a career .191/.314/.289/.603 line against Scott, while righties hit .235/.335/.344/.679 against him. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Scott will net a four-year, $56 million deal. Scott ranks as their 14th-best free agent this offseason.

Read MMO’s Tanner Scott free agent profile here.

Alternate LHH Options: A.J. Minter, Danny Coulombe, Jalen Beeks

Kirby Yates, K'ing the Side in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/zGYjfjm1eT

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 6, 2024

Kirby Yates

They say youth is key, but Kirby Yates proved otherwise in 2024. The 37-year-old had his best year since 2019, posting a 1.17 ERA in 61 games. He allowed 23 hits, eight earned runs, three home runs, 28 walks and struck out 85 batters through 61 ⅔ innings pitched. Yates had the seventh-most saves in baseball (33), finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting and was named to his second All-Star team in his one season with Texas.

Yates ranked in the 100th percentile in expected ERA (1.86) and expected batting average (.145) while striking out 35.9% of batters faced (98th percentile). While he was one of the better relievers in baseball in 2024 (3.3 bWAR), he’s no stranger to the injury bug. He’s had two Tommy John surgeries and, like Scott, struggles with command. His 11.8% walk percentage placed him in the bottom eight percentile of pitchers. While he’s never been one for velocity, his four-seamer tops out at around 93.2 mph, opponents have never been able to quite differentiate the pitch from his split-finger, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Lefties and righties have fared evenly against Yates. Lefties have a lifetime .196/.298/.362/.660 line against him, while righties mustered a .197/.276/.321/.597 line. While it isn’t likely Yates will replicate his 2024 season, he can still provide the Mets insurance in late innings. He can act as a setup man for Díaz, close for him when needed, and work in high-leverage spots.

Find MMO’s free agent profile on Yates here.

Alternate High-Leverage Arms: David Robertson, José Leclerc

Ryne Stanek

Of all the members of the 2024 bullpen to return, Ryne Stanek should be at the top of the list. The Mets acquired Stanek from the Mariners in late July for minor league prospect Rhylan Thomas. Stanek struggled during the regular season with the Mets, posting an ugly 6.06 ERA in 17 games. He allowed 13 hits, 11 runs, eight walks and struck out 23 in 16 ⅓ innings pitched. However, his shining moment in Queens came during the playoffs. He pitched to a Stanek-like 3.38 ERA in seven games, allowing five hits, three earned runs, three walks and eight punch outs. His 2.89 career postseason ERA speaks volumes compared to his regular season career 3.65 ERA. All said, Stanek was born for the playoffs.

At 33 years old, his 2024 fastball velocity put him in the 97th percentile (97.7 mph), and he landed in the 94th percentile in whiff percentage (33.2%). Stanek’s arsenal consists of a four-seamer, split-finger, slider and sinker. Stanek’s expected ERA (3.44) and expected BA (.205) suggest he ran into some bad luck in 2024, explaining his elevated ERA. 

Most of the damage against Stanek came in his first couple of appearances with the Mets (he gave up three earned runs and two home runs in his debut inning in Queens). After that, he was a stellar presence for the Mets and could be a solid replacement for Drew Smith in the sixth or seventh inning in 2025.

MMO covered Stanek’s free agency here.

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