After flirting with respectability earlier in the season, the Mets bullpen finds itself back in familiar territory. They are tied for 13th in OPS allowed (.767), 14th in WHIP (1.587) and last in ERA (5.45) and it took just 34.2 IP for the unit to achieve this level. In the last full season, the Mets’ pen tossed 519.2 IP, the second-fewest innings in the league. So, we’re going to experience roughly 500 or so more innings from the pen.
There’s not much you can do about a game like last night, where the fielding was rotten and forced a move to the pen much earlier than anyone would have preferred. Scratch that – you can not use Robert Gsellman for multiple innings. He’s the de facto long man but let’s not pretend that he’s actually good. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Mets see value in Gsellman. Part of that value is that he has an option left. They should probably use that sooner rather than later. Hurry back, Seth Lugo.
A healthy Lugo would be a good thing, giving the club another reliable option in the pen, but who knows when he’ll be back to his 2019 self. We wouldn’t look askance at a healthy Drew Smith, either. Hey, has anybody heard anything about how things are progressing with Dellin Betances? Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Aaron Loup’s been good and Edwin Diaz has been ok, if a bit unlucky. But whatever misfortune has happened to Diaz has been more than made up for the terrific luck enjoyed by Miguel Castro and Jeurys Familia. Castro has a neat 3.18 ERA but his 1.412 WHIP suggests that things could turn quickly. And Familia somehow has an even better ERA (2.45) with a WHIP (2.182) that screams, “release me.” Yeah, the hits have been bleeders – duly noted.
So, how do you make chicken salad from this group?
The first thing is to acknowledge that it may not be possible. After that, look for reasons to keep starters in the game as long as possible. And there’s no need to be so dogmatic about the usage of Diaz, who doesn’t have to be used in every situation humanly possible in the ninth innings and a score within three runs.
And maybe accept the fact that there are going to be games like last night. It used to be common for the manager to ask a pitcher to “take one for the team,” to soak up innings and runs allowed so the club didn’t need to use every reliever in a lost cause. Maybe that’s how Gsellman fits. If that’s the case, then they didn’t leave him in too long Wednesday, they took him out too soon.
Is it fair to do that to Gsellman? That seems like a reasonable question to ask. He’s not a young guy who you worry about shattering his confidence. If a 5.05 ERA in 154 games since 2017 hasn’t soured him on the MLB pitcher thing, it’s likely taking some hits in a mop-up role won’t leave him crying in the corner.
Of course, that would mean that the Mets have to accept that Gsellman’s last 279.2 IP is an accurate reflection of who he is as a pitcher. It may have taken awhile but they finally admitted reality with Tyler Bashlor and Jacob Rhame – to say nothing of Robert Carson and Scott Rice – so perhaps there’s hope in this regard with Gsellman.
To state the obvious, just because they put Gsellman into a game they’re losing, it doesn’t mean that Gsellman has to pitch lousy. If you don’t want to be a mop-up guy pitching the lowest-leverage innings possible, here’s a thought – get outs and don’t give up runs.
The Mets have been more than patient with Gsellman and they’ve given him opportunities that not only he didn’t deserve but they kicked others to the curb to make those chances possible. It’s not an easy answer to figure out when’s the right time to give up on a once-promising arm.
I would have given up on Gsellman already. But I’m trying to meet the Mets halfway here. If they insist on having him on the MLB roster – use him like the mop-up guy he is and quit pretending that he’s going to be a key member of the club.
Maybe they should just sit Davis.
Over those 279 innings, there were numerous occasions where Gsellman was misused and maybe even abused. However, this season, the reasons/excuses are gone. He is as close to the edge as you can get, especially with an option and alternatives like Smith and Vizciano getting healthy.
For what it’s worth, I do not see that Chasen Shreve has pitched in the bigs this year, and if I’m not mistaken, he is with the Pirates, a team with horrible pitching, at their alternative site.
Bullpens have to managed. When Rojas went to Gsellman last night, I knew it was because Gsellman had gotten a needed out the night before. It’s the old Terry Collins Syndrome: Something good happens, so we do it again as soon as possible.
That’s not managing the team… that’s something more like superstition. Gutless.
For whatever reason, Gsellman can no longer be taken seriously. I sure hope there are better options out there… Oswald, Kilome? Still don’t know why Justin Wilson was not retained…
Gotta win Game 3.
The defense has to be improved before the bullpen can be expected to produce. Its like having a good quarterback with a cr*p offensive line. The two are symbiotic.
The secondary relievers ,#6-8 , are terrible. Rojas used his so call “long man” for one out on Tuesday night in a 3-1 game. The #7 man in the bullpen should not have pitched in that situation but if Rojas committed to Gsellman that he should pitched multiple innings. That didn’t make sense to me. Now they should demote Hildenberger and Gsellman today so that there are warm bodies (pun intended) for tonight’s game. Maybe it’s time for multiple inning pitchers to fill the 7-8 spots in the bullpen and used them as such. Yamamoto and McWilliams would be a suggestion because the current mix and bullpen strategy is not working.
Thanks for the note about the hits Familia has given up. I think that was for me. Another one in his most recent outing btw. 🙂
Metsense – I agree, let’s get Yamamoto and McWilliams up here to change up the look of the bullpen a bit. I don’t think there is anything left to see out of Gsellman.
I guess you can’t blame the Mets for trying. They’ve tried every possible route and most everyone ends up being a massive disappointment or not developing. Maybe every team is this bad at their bullpen and the grass isn’t greener on the other side, but it sure seems like the Mets luck in this department is quite rotten.
In the past 4-5 years –
They’ve tried the expensive FA route:
Swarzak, Betances, Familia, Bastardo
They’ve traded for closers:
AJ Ramos, Diaz, Miguel Castro
They’ve tried reclamation projects:
Fernando salas, Josh Smoker, Luis Avilan, Brad Brach, Jared Hughes
They’ve tried converting starters into relievers:
Logan verrett, Gsellman, Montero, Gilmartin, Flexen, Milone
They’ve given draftees or tradees a chance:
Erik Goeddel, Paul Sewald, Rhame, Bashlor, Smith(because he can’t stay healthy), Tim Peterson, Kilome
Guys who have worked out – can count on one hand:
Addison Reed, Jerry Blevins, Seth Lugo, Justin Wilson
Gsellman might have been better used as an Opener. As a former starter, he might like knowing when he’s going to pitch. Start Gsellman, come back to Lucchesi.
But the Mets cannot afford many more of the Gsellman experiment. Reid-Foley looking good as I type this.