Beyond the uncertainty in the outfield this spring, the Mets next biggest question mark is clearly the construction of the bullpen. Though the starting pitching figures to be a strength (even if Johan Santana doesn’t start the season on time), it doesn’t mean much if the bullpen can’t effectively close out games. In case you hadn’t heard, the Mets bullpen in 2012 was not good and there are very few holdovers from 2012 that are a lock to break camp with the team. With about three weeks of spring training in the books, we can begin to look at how the bullpen picture is starting to take shape.
The table below contains statistics for those pitchers who seemingly have a chance at a spot in the bullpen to start the 2013 season. The statistics are through 3/9 and the list is ordered by innings pitched.
| Player | Throws | IP | ERA | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP | 40-Man? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Hefner | R | 10.1 | 2.61 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0.87 | Yes |
| Robert Carson | L | 6.0 | 7.50 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1.50 | Yes |
| Josh Edgin | L | 6.0 | 3.00 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2.00 | Yes |
| Darin Gorski | L | 6.0 | 7.50 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2.00 | Yes |
| Bobby Parnell | R | 6.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.83 | Yes |
| Greg Burke | R | 5.0 | 7.20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1.20 | Yes |
| Scott Rice | L | 5.0 | 5.40 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1.60 | No |
| Collin McHugh | R | 4.2 | 9.64 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.14 | Yes |
| Scott Atchison | R | 4.1 | 4.15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.46 | No |
| Jeurys Familia | R | 4.0 | 4.50 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1.50 | Yes |
| Aaron Laffey | L | 3.2 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.91 | No |
| Brandon Lyon | R | 3.2 | 2.45 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.82 | Yes |
| Elvin Ramirez | R | 3.2 | 4.91 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2.18 | Yes |
| Carlos Torres | R | 3.1 | 10.80 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3.00 | No |
| LaTroy Hawkins | R | 1.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.00 | No |
| Pedro Feliciano | L | 0.2 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
First off, Parnell is a no-brainer. Not only was there no question before spring training that he would be a key piece to the bullpen, he’s also been lights out. It also looks as though Hefner is being stretched out as a starter, signaling that he will probably take Santana’s place in the rotation should he open the season on the disabled list. He’s also been very, very good so far this spring and even if he isn’t needed to start he will most likely be the long-man. After that, things get a bit dicey.
None of the other righties have stood out, though Burke has been a strikeout machine. Atchison and Lyon have been decent, though it’s been reported that Lyon’s velocity is down. Cory Mazzoni was doing very well but was part of the first iteration of cuts yesterday and reassigned to minor league camp. Note that Frank Francisco also has yet to pitch in a game.
Ideally there will be two lefties in the bullpen. Carson, Edgin, and Gorski have gotten long looks so far but none of them have exactly shined. Carson has been especially susceptible to home runs and Edgin and Gorski haven’t been able to keep men off base. This is interesting to watch because they are all young lefties whose primary competition consists of veteran lefties Rice, Laffey, and Feliciano. Rice and Laffey have been decent and Feliciano has just gotten into game action because of a condition that requires him to wear a heart monitor.
Though there are no clear-cut front runners yet, the youngsters have a leg up because they are all on the 40-man roster while the veteran lefties are not.
These are small sample sizes, of course, and spring stats are generally taken with a grain of salt. The bullpen is essentially being built from the ground up, though, and spring training performances are really the only thing to base bullpen roster decisions on at this point.
It’s still early, and things can change, but up to this point I feel comfortable listing the following relief pitchers as breaking camp with the team:
1. Parnell
2. Francisco (because of his contract but only if healthy)
3. Hefner
Bullpen Watch will be a short series that will be updated every week until the end of spring training (or until the members of the bullpen have been solidified). Please feel free to sound off in the comments section on who you think, so far, has earned the right to be a part of the 2013 Mets bullpen.
Take the four relief pitchers they signed in the off season and add Parnell,Edgin, and Frankie
(if he’s healthy) and thats your bullpen! I hope they can find a spot for Burke because he gives you a different look out of the pen and unless Hefner is a starter I don’t see him in
Long relief because theres no room for him in the bullpen! As long as Santana is on the DL
Hefner will have a job! (at least till june 15th)
From my above table, they signed Greg Burke, Scott Rice, Scott Atchison, Aaron Laffey, Brandon Lyon, Carlos Torres, LaTroy Hawkins and Pedro Feliciano this off-season.
The 40-man roster is full, I believe. Only Burke and Lyon are on the 40-man, which means if they wanted to add any of the other six they would have to remove players.
That being said, Darin Gorski, Collin McHugh, and Elvin Ramirez were reassigned to minor league camp this morning so the list has already gotten smaller.
Lyon has to be on the list because he was given a major league contract.
It’s also hard for me to envision the bullpen not having Edgin in it.
Agreed. Let’s assume Santana and Francisco open the season on the DL. Hefner takes Santana’s spot. For the seven other arms I think it will be (in order of most likeliest): 1) Parnell, 2) Lyon, 3) Edgin, 4) Burke 5) Atchison 6) Hawkins, 7) Feliciano (if his arm is ready–if not, I think Rice might surprise people and be the 2nd lefty.)
Santana and Francisco on the DL would open up two spots on the 40-man. Byrd will take one of those and Atchison the other, so two more spots would need to be cleared for Hawkins and Feliciano–Havens goes unclaimed and is sent to Vegas, and hopefully Turner is traded for cash.
He has an advantage because he has that contract, but he still has to perform. It’s been reported that his velocity has been down, but it’s still early and there is time for him to build arm strength. Assuming, of course, that there isn’t something else wrong with him.
I disagree. He has a major league deal and is guaranteed to make Opening day no matter what he does in ST. Do you really think that they would release their biggest bullpen addition?
His major league deal has a base salary of $750,000, or 50k more than Atchison will receive should he make the MLB team. His contract is loaded with incentives. A spot in the bullpen is probably his to lose, but they didn’t break the bank on him and cutting is not so far fetched.
The Met bullpen is a disaster waiting to happen, but it is better than last year.Parnell, Lyon ,Heffner, and Edgin (even though he has not been impressive)and Burke seem like strong candidates because they are all on the roster. Fransisco is a lock but he will be on the DL.(but he still holds a spot on the 40 Man because it needs to be 60 days DL to give up the spot) Two spots left. Mets are real high on Familia. Carson hasn’t look good yet so AAA is on the horizon no matter what TC wants. Feliciano doesn’t seem to be ready.
Hawkins, Atchison, Rice and Laffey all non roster but would the Mets take two when they already have to add Byrd to the roster?. Hicks gets waived, Havens gets dropped but who would the third player be? It is because of the roster crunch that I think the competition is between Atchison and Hawkins . Familia or Carson go north. I think?? Nice analysis and article Rob.
I agree, all five you mentioned seem to be very strong candidates. It seems Collins is really liking what he sees from Familia, too, so he might have a leg up for one of those final spots.
Thank you for the kind words.
Good call on the 15-day DL players still being on the 40-man. My mistake. Looks like Johan and Franky phoning it in during the offseason might cause a serious roster crunch. Havens will get bumped and there’s no room for Turner in my opinion. If Carson doesn’t make the team, might he get bumped from the 40-man? His numbers in the minors have never been good (even in relief), he did poorly in his short stint with the Mets last season, and he’s having a bad spring. Maybe Germen? Cutting Hicks won’t do anything because Quintanilla or Bixler would need to be added in his spot.
Hey Rob!I would be the happiest Met fan on Earth if Parnell can do it when it counts not just in spring training when most teams are using their minor league players.
Hi, Peter. It would be amazing if Parnell can continue his dominance and translate it into the season. He has the stuff to be a closer, he just has to make the jump mentally. The organization seems to be trying to instill confidence in him in the closer role, which I think can only help him in that regard.
I thought the main knock on Parnell was that he didn’t have the stuff to be a closer. His fastball has the velocity but is so damn straight and has no movement and so it is super hittable
That was his main knock, but he’s added a nice knuckle-curve and sacrificed a bit of velocity for control. He’s coming along.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130214&content_id=41644262¬ebook_id=41644298&vkey=notebook_nym&c_id=nym