The Bullpen
14. RHP Jeurys Familia
15. RHP Addison Reed
16. LHP Josh Smoker
17. RHP Hansel Robles
18. LHP Josh Edgin
19. RHP Seth Lugo
The big story all offseason here has been about whether Familia will be suspended to open next season after allegedly physically assaulting his wife, Bianca Rivas, at their home in Fort Lee, NJ. So although it appears that the charges will be dropped at the request of Rivas, he may still face a suspension from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.Aside from the domestic violence case, Familia led the majors with 51 saves last season, paired with a 2.55 ERA. Besides one hanging pitch on a game-winning home run to Giants third baseman Conor Gillaspie in the 2016 NL Wild Card game, Familia was brilliant for the second season in a row as the closer for the Mets.
His setup man, Addison Reed, was absolutely stellar as well, posting a 1.97 ERA with 91 strikeouts over 77.2 innings pitched himself. Those numbers easily slot him into the setup role for 2017, and should Familia be suspended, he’ll surely take over as closer.
The Joshes in Smoker and Edgin are the two lone lefties near the major leagues for the Mets. Jerry Blevins filled that role masterfully in 2016, but this duo is who Collins will have as of right now.
Edgin hasn’t pitched more than 30 innings in a season during his four-year career, and Smoker made his debut just last August. Neither is a lefty-specialist – something Mets’ management always likes to have – so expect them to go after outside options like Boone Logan or Sean Doolittle to help fill that need before Opening Day.
The rest of the ‘pen in Robles and Lugo are two reliable arms who had great campaigns in 2016. Robles is a typical power pitcher and as his control gets better, so will his already decent numbers.
Lugo was chosen for the last spot over Gsellman due to his experience in the minor leagues splitting time between starting and relieving, while Gsellman hasn’t shown an ability to do that yet in his young professional career.
