New York Mets: Five moves that would strengthen the bullpen

With the impending suspension of closer Jeurys Familia, here’s five moves GM Sandy Alderson could make to beef up the New York Mets’ ‘pen.

Even with the recent dismissal and expungement of the simple assault charge facing New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia, it’s still likely the All-Star will face a 30-game suspension or more from the league office. Newly re-signed New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman received 30 games for domestic violence issues in 2016, even after no charges were levied against him.

Setup man and ex-closer Addison Reed was incredible in 2016, posting a 1.97 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 77.2 innings. That makes Reed the closer if Familia is suspended. But the rest of the ‘pen is a bit up in the air.

That leaves Mets fans and management alike in a complete frenzy of worry about what the bullpen will look like while he’s gone – and even when he’s back. But the signing numbers for relievers are exponentially higher now than in the past. So buyer beware.

Chapman signed for five-years, $86 million with the Yanks.

Kenley Jansen signed for five-years, $80 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mark Melancon signed for four-years, $62 million with the San Francisco Giants.

Even Brett Cecil – who has 11 career saves – got in on the action, signing a four-year, $30.5 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

And yesterday, 31-year-old lefty Mike Dunn and his four career saves signed with the Colorado Rockies for three-years, $19 million.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has been publicly adamant that he doesn’t particularly want to sign a reliever to longer than a one-year deal, but if an older guy like Dunn can get three years, he may have to change his tune.

The Mets’ farm system is loaded with trade chips to acquire their desired relievers, but the free agent market still has some gems available that would more than suffice as well.

So without further ado, here are five of the best scenarios in which Alderson could find help for his bullpen.

Trade with the Oakland A’s for lefty Sean Doolittle

With just Josh Edgin and Josh Smoker as the only two remotely major league-level lefty relievers the Mets currently have, acquiring a left-handed bullpen arm is Alderson’s biggest void to fill.

The A’s Sean Doolittle is a man without a significant job in Oakland’s bullpen, as Ryan Madson took over the closer gig last season. That leaves the A’s notoriously trade-hungry GM Billy Beane a trade chip in Doolittle that could be used to help expand his prospects in the minors.

The former closer has a 3.07 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 33 saves – including 22 in 2014 – over the course of his five-year career. He’s experienced towards the end of games as well, giving Mets manager Terry Collins the opportunity to have a lefty-righty closer by committee approach with Doolittle and Reed.

Alderson probably wouldn’t have to give up much for Doolittle, as he’s due to be a free agent after next season. But his presence would fill two voids for the Mets – getting a lefty, along with a setup/closer type arm.

Trade with the selling Pittsburgh Pirates for Tony Watson

Call it a pipe-dream, but when the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to start shopping perennial All-Star Andrew McCutchen, everybody became for sale.

Tony Watson is not only an elite lefty, but one of the game’s most reliably great bullpen arms in general. In both 2014 and ’15, he had sub-2.00 ERAs, subsequently taking over the closer job for the Bucs after Melancon was traded to the Washington Nationals – accumulating 15 saves in the process.

That ninth inning experience would help him fit right into a late game role in Queens, while simultaneously being a lefty specialist – he allowed a .211 average with no home runs in 77 plate appearances against lefties last season.

The only thing that stands in the way of a possible deal is the Pirates typically high asking price for players, as teams were scared away from McCutchen after hearing what GM Neal Huntington wanted in return for him.

Neftali Feliz would come relatively inexpensive

Free 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.

Santiago Casilla would be a cheaper alternative to Brad Ziegler

Former Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox closer Brad Ziegler has been the talk of the MLB hot stove with Jansen, Chapman, and Melancon all having been signed. The 37-year-old will surely get paid well after a 2.25 ERA, 22 save 2016 season, but there’s a much more fiscally friendly ex-closer available as well – Santiago Casilla.

The long-time Giants’ ninth-inning man has accumulated 127 saves during his career, showing Mariano Rivera-esque nerves in each of the three World Series wins he took a part in.

A 2.42 ERA, paired with 366 strikeouts in 394.2 innings during his last seven seasons, makes him an example of a rare phenomenon – a consistent reliever.

At 35-years-old, Casilla had a ‘down’ year in 2016, garnering 31 saves on a 3.57 ERA, while striking out over a batter an inning.

So even though his velocity has slightly diminished, and he isn’t a top flight closer anymore, the Mets wouldn’t need him to be. He would just be there to shore things up while Familia’s out, moving to a seventh inning role upon his return – creating a big three in Familia-Reed-Casilla that would surely do well when combined with the Mets’ phenomenal starting rotation.

Casilla would also likely be willing to sign a one-year deal, as his age may preclude him from signing for any longer – music to Sandy’s ears.

Former Yankee Boone Logan would be a great lefty specialist

If Frank Sinatra ever sang about pitchers, the title of his famous tune “New York, New York” – featuring the line “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere” – would be changed to “Denver, Denver”, because if you can pitch there, you can pitch anywhere.

Free agent lefty specialist and ex-Yankee Boone Logan thrived in the thin air of Coors Field with the Rockies. Logan threw for a 3.69 ERA last season, not allowing a single home run in 23 innings pitched at home.

Against left-handed hitters, he allowed a .142 average – decidedly confirming his specialist title. But unlike many other lefties, he held righties to a more than good enough .211 average.

Compared to the other four options on this list, Logan would be the least proven fill-in option towards the end of games for the Mets. But what he would be is a well-priced solid arm, especially for when Familia would return.

2016 was Logan’s first solid season since 2013, possibly making teams anxious to sign him for longer than a year.

Step in Sandy Alderson.