As we stand, we are 16 days from Opening Day, and the Mets don’t know who would be their first option to come into a close game against a tough lefty. Left handers in camp include experienced arms like Mike Montgomery, Alex Claudio, Chasen Shreve. Are you confident if they’re in the game to face guys like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto or Matt Olson?
Clearly, there’s room for improvement, so the guy that stands out who’s still a free agent to me is Tony Watson. Watson, 36, was rather ordinary last season during his time with the Los Angeles Angels, pitching to a 4.64 ERA in 36 appearances. But after he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, Watson turned it up, appearing in 26 games at a 2.96 ERA clip.
The Mets have some solid quality from the right side in their bullpen, with guys like Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, Miguel Castro and Trevor May, along with wild cards like Drew Smith, Yennsy Diaz, Jake Reed and Sean Reid-Foley, so they could rely on some metrics in tough spots with guys like Castro, who have similar splits against righties and lefties. Lefties hit .198 while righties hit .180. Ottavino is a little more stark, with lefties hitting .274 and righties hitting .219.
There’s also lefties who are accustomed to being starters, such as David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi and Thomas Szapucki, but I doubt the Mets want to compromise on their starting pitching depth.
The easy choice? Bring in Watson, let the guys compete, and if a trade is required down the line, then so be it.
