Mets trade rumors: Bullpen is the most likely area for an upgrade

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said that the team’s most realistic area to get someone in a trade is the bullpen. He also mentioned that the Mets are not likely to acquire a starting pitcher or a position player.

The Mets have been rumored to be seeking relief pitching for a little while now. The Mets’ bullpen has a 3.10 ERA this season, the fifth-best mark in baseball, though it does trail the Nationals and Dodgers—two teams they are trying to catch in the standings. The team’s best relievers have been nothing short of excellent, as Addison Reed has a 1.96 ERA, Jerry Blevins has a 2.05 ERA, and Jeurys Familia has a 2.53 ERA this season. Reed has been a revelation since joining the Mets at the end of August last year.

On top of that, Hansel Robles has put together a very good season, as he has a 2.61 ERA and bounced back nicely from a brief span of bad outings a few weeks back. Antonio Bastardo has been a disappointment this year after signing a two-year contract over the offseason. But given his track record over his major league career, he’s probably not going anywhere in the immediate future. So that’s five spots in the bullpen that are probably locked in.

Logan Verrett, who’s currently in the rotation, has been a lot better out of the bullpen than in the rotation by ERA, but the peripherals out of the ‘pen aren’t pretty, either. For now, that leaves Erik Goeddel and Seth Lugo as the Mets’ sixth and seventh relievers. Goeddel has only been so-so this year, with a 3.94 ERA in 16.0 innings, and while Lugo has a 1.23 ERA, he’s pitched just 7.1 innings this year, his first in the big leagues.

While Carlos Torres, who was let go over the winter even though the Mets could have kept him, would have looked pretty nice in the Mets’ bullpen all year, upgrading one or two spots in the bullpen could help, especially if Bastardo doesn’t improve soon.