New York Mets: Five moves that would strengthen the bullpen
Neftali Feliz would come relatively inexpensive
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ree agent righty Neftali Feliz had a career reawakening last season, twirling a 3.52 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 53.2 innings pitched for the Pirates.The former Texas Rangers closer had fallen off a bit in recent years, even visiting the minor leagues as recently as 2015. But the once BaseballProspectus #3 prospect in baseball will still be just 28-years-old come Spring Training 2017.
Feliz still features a blazing fastball, typically residing in the mid-90s, with an ability to reach back and hit the upper-90s as well. A hard slider completes his repertoire – a good combination for a contemporary righty, with power-pitching being important as ever in today’s game.
He made $3.9 million on a ‘prove-it’ deal with the Pirates, so his salary figures to move up near $8 million/year for 2017 and beyond. Although not recent, he does have experience closing games for Texas, and would throw a similar style to that of Reed’s.
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Chris recently graduated with a Journalism degree from Montclair State University. Baseball is his love and he hopes to bring back some of the old-school popularity to the game.
Chris Thompson covers the NY Jets and NY Mets for Elite Sports NY. You can interact with him on Twitter @Time2Topher.
