Does Terry Collins have his LOOGY?

As the year comes to an end, MLB rosters continue to take shape this offseason. The Mets have made their dent in the reconstructing process thus far by acquiring Chris Young, Curtis Granderson, and Bartolo Colon.  These signings will probably be viewed as the key acquisitions going into Spring Training, which is still more than a month away.  While Sandy Alderson still seeks additional productive parts to his roster via trade or free agency, one thing manager Terry Collins might be wondering is “Do I have my LOOGY?”

LOOGY, of course, refers to a “Lefty One Out Guy,” a key player for managers who place a high emphasis on lefty/righty matchups.  With all the advance scouting and statistics available to managers, this strategy has become a mainstay in the modern game.  Collins, as Mets fans know, has become a micromanager in late game situations when it comes to handling his bullpen, many times to a fault.  As seen on TV during games, the camera has caught Collins many times with his nose in a folded piece of paper he holds in the dugout that no doubt has statistics of opposing batters against lefties and righties, including his own pitchers.   Without getting into a debate of whether Collins has utilized these statistics or strategy optimally, it’s fair to say Collins likes to have a reliable LOOGY.

Last year, Scott Rice, a 31 year old rookie, pitched in 73 games for the Mets.  The lefty reliever, however, pitched in only 51 innings.  Collins, for most of the season, used Rice as his “Go To LOOGY” coming into games to get crucial outs. For the most part, Rice did his job. The slash line for opposing LHB slash was .174/.244/.223 in 138 PA.  Compare that to his performance against RHB, which was .362/.507/.448 in 75 PA.  So after viewing those splits, it’s pretty hard to argue with Collins’ use of Rice and shows you how relievers nowadays are cultivated for a certain role.  Josh Edgin was also called on many times to get lefties out but to moderate success. Collins didn’t use Edgin in typical LOOGY situations, as he usually came on to pitch full innings in many of his 34 appearances.  After two inconsistent seasons from Edgin, it will be interesting to see his role in 2014 after suffering the season-ending rib cage fracture in 2013. So will Rice or Edgin be the LOOGY in Collins’ arsenal?

As the roster is constructed now, there are really no other options.  Pedro Feliciano, the two previous managers’ favorite LOOGY, is now out of the organization.  One minor league option is Jack Leathersich, a hard throwing lefty who thrived in Double-A Binghamton last year, before struggling at Triple-A Las Vegas.  It would not be a surprise to see Leathersich sometime next season regardless of the bullpen’s performance.   But what about options outside of the organization?

Alderson continues to dangle Ike Davis to teams needing a first baseman, mainly Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.  The prospective return for Davis remains an unknown and there have been no rumblings about a big-time lefty reliever available.  After Boone Logan, J.P. Howell, and Scott Downs all signed for elevated money on the free agent market, the remaining lefty relievers wouldn’t blow fans’ hair back if they were to sign with the Mets.  The most reputable free agents LOOGYs left are Mike Gonzalez, Rich Hill, Jose Mijares, and Eric O’Flaherty, who is coming off major arm surgery.  Of course, there is still Oliver Perez who last year re-invented himself in Seattle as a reliable LOOGY, but one would guess he won’t be wearing the blue and orange next season.

So who will be the LOOGY of 2014? To quote Gary Cohen, it looks like Scott “Every Minute” Rice….until further notice.