The New York Mets are looking to shore up their bullpen as they hope to secure a spot in the postseason, and with the trade deadline long gone, the team may have to get creative.
Team president David Stearns brought up a couple interesting options for the Mets as they continue their final home-stand of the season. He said that “all options were on the table,” according to Andy Martino of SNY.
“Among the logical candidates: Clay Holmes, Brandon Sproat, Kodai Senga,” Martino added.
Holmes, who has held his own in the Mets' starting rotation this season, came to Queens from across town, where he was the New York Yankees' closer. Though he eventually lose the role due to ineffectiveness, he recovered and appeared in 13 postseason games, allowing only three runs as the Yankees made it to the World Series.
Now starting for the first time since his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Holmes has a 3.75 ERA in 29 starts, though that balloons to 4.99 over his past 12.
The Mets are looking for bullpen options
While the season-long numbers show the Mets have a middling bullpen, it has been atrocious since June 12 with a 5.06 ERA, as ESPN pointed out on Monday.
The team thought it had its answer by acquiring Ryan Helsley at the trade deadline. Instead, Helsley has appeared in 17 games, building a 10.29 ERA with four blown saves and a .354 BAA.
Suddenly Kodai Senga and his disastrous August doesn't seem so bad. Senga is currently in Triple-A trying to re-discover his early-season form, but perhaps in short bursts in the bigs he can do the same.
The point is, the Mets need to find a consistent and sustainable way to build a bridge to Edwin Diaz. Brooks Raley and Tyler Rogers are part of that right now, but that makes Rogers the only reliable righty in the middle innings.
Moving a starter to the pen isn't new — especially for the Mets, who just announced that lefty Sean Manaea would transition to a relief role. But with Manaea scuffling through a poor season, he's not likely to be used in high-leverage situations, at least to start.
