The New York Mets lost Taijuan Walker and Chris Bassitt during free agency, not to mention Jacob deGrom.
All of them have been replaced by quality alternatives, though.
The bullpen has also suffered several casualties: Seth Lugo and Adam Ottavino are gone, as is Joely Rodriguez.
The latter already found a team while the first two are still looking, with Lugo searching for a starting gig.
As it turns out, a member of the 2021 and 2022 bullpen is also saying goodbye because he just signed with the Oakland Athletics.
“Another member of the 2022 Mets bullpen is heading elsewhere, as the A’s announce they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Trevor May,” Mets insider Anthony DiComo tweeted on Friday afternoon.
Another member of the 2022 Mets bullpen is heading elsewhere, as the A's announce they've agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Trevor May.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) December 16, 2022
It’s surprising to see the A’s spending $7 million on a reliever, but one has to think they will turn him into a useful prospect come the trade deadline if he has a good season.
A Talented Pitcher Trying To Bounce Back
He certainly has the talent.
May has a career 4.35 ERA, but most of that can be chalked up to his first three years in the majors.
Those seasons yielded 7.88, 4.00, and 5.27 ERA finishes in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
He was much, much better after that.
In his first campaign with the Mets, in 2021, he had a solid 3.59 ERA.
He was at 5.04 this past season, but with a much more decent 3.87 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP).
Injuries also got in his way.
He will try to show teams in 2023 that he can go back to being a sub-3.00s ERA pitcher, like he was in 2019.
The Mets will have to bring in another reliever or two given the current state of their bullpen.
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