Closers have been hot commodities throughout this past offseason. Craig Kimbrel was traded for a package of solid players in order to close out games in Boston this upcoming season. Aroldis Chapman joined Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller in the backend of the Yankees’ bullpen in order to shorten the games. The Kansas City Royals had quite the combination at the end of the baseball games, featuring Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland out of the bullpen.
The Mets have had a couple of notable closers throughout the past couple of years, such as Billy Wagner, Francisco Rodriguez, and even Jenrry Mejia and Bobby Parnell turned in solid years. Luckily the Mets have one of the best closers in the game in Jeurys Familia, but the team also will feature former closer Addison Reed, and a reliever who has experience finishing games in Antonio Bastardo. These three relievers have plenty of experience and talent that will help the Mets win throughout the season. One of the quiet signings of the offseason may add even more experience to the back of the bullpen if the player can remain healthy.
Jim Henderson was 29 when he began his major league career in 2012 with the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched in 36 games, struck out 45 batters in 30.2 innings, and earned three saves. The following year was a breakout year, as Henderson saved 28 games, and had a 2.70 ERA in 61 games. There was no evidence of a sophomore slump, and it looked as if Henderson would be a solid choice to close games for Milwaukee.
The third year of Henderson’s career was derailed by shoulder surgery. Henderson did not pitch in the majors, and struggled with command in Triple-A. His 5.2 BB/9 was too high to get back to the majors, and his strike out rate decreased, which could signal that his stuff is not as good as it once was.
We have seen Sandy Alderson take chances on veterans who have had some success in the past, and provide at a high level in the majors. Marlon Byrd is the first player that comes to mind. Chris Capuano had a nice bounce back year in 2011 for the Mets after not pitching in the majors during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, and pitching a little bit for Milwaukee in 2010.
Hopefully Alderson struck gold with giving Henderson a chance to excel in the Mets bullpen. With an already crowded field of candidates to choose from, the competition for a bullpen spot will be pretty exciting to keep an eye on throughout Spring Training. Familia is a lock for closer, and Bastardo and Reed will be setup men to start the year. Hansel Robles looks to play a big part in Terry Collins’ plans. There are other candidates who look to fill in the left-handed specialist role, such as Dario Alvarez, Jerry Blevins, and Sean Gilmartin. There could also be options for a long-reliever, so the Mets will have options to choose from.
If Henderson can regain his 2013 form, the Mets bullpen will have another reliever capable of closing games, and adding even more talent to the backend of the bullpen. It is going to be exciting to see what Henderson can do, and how the bullpen pans out.
Somewhere a Tiger blogger is writing a similar piece on Bobby Parnell.
that was priceless Brian.
I was not a Fan of Parnell at 101mph….and I was certainly not a Fan at 91mph!
I have vague memories of Jim Henderson…a little nasty, and hitters looked uncomfortable. Healthy, he can make good hitters look bad.
Nobody ever looked uncomfortable against Parnell….my opinion then and now.
…and it’s fun to read ST Fodder on “new guys”— it’s a Spring Hope Thing!!!
I thought bringing back Bobby Parnell on a minor league deal would have been good, but once you go from the closer to nearly being released in 2015 I guess it is time to move on.
Every team has a Jim Henderson in camp. I remember us bringing Carlos Torres in on the same deal and everyone complaining when he had to be added to the roaster at mid-season. Worked out well and Carlos would still be here if not for the crazy pitching depth that the Mets have.
No love for Erik Goeddel?
It’s definitely nice to have options heading into Spring Training in the BP. I’d be surprised if anything comes of this signing, but it’d be nice to have another (effective) pitcher with experience closing games at the backend of it.
Henderson’s 2013 season was not much better than Robles 2015 season. Henderson had a much better k/9 ratio but Robles had a better WHIP. Both pitchers had problems keeping the ball in the park. Henderson was given an opportunity to close but Robles was properly not. Even if Henderson were to revert to his 2013 form, Familia, Reed and Bastardo need not be looking over their shoulders as you correctly state in your article. It is a quiet, solid signing that adds possible depth to the backend of the bullpen. He would have to beat Goedell out who had a good 2015 season.