Let’s find the Mets relief pitchers, Part 4

Nov 29, 2022 - 3:00 PM

The offseason hasn’t quite reached the winter meetings phase just yet, but the Mets are in need of pitchers for their bullpen in 2023 and beyond. We’ve been running down the list of free agent relievers by a relatively simple metric: their 2022 fWAR. That’s far from a perfect way of identifying who will be the best pitchers moving forward, but it works just fine for this process. Check out the first, second, and third parts of the series to read about the pitchers we’ve already covered.

Trevor Williams: The Mets got Williams in the same trade that brought them Javier Báez in 2021, and he turned into a very useful piece for them in 2022. In nine starts and 21 relief appearances, he totaled a 3.21 ERA and a 3.88 FIP in 89.2 innings of work. If he prefers to find a role a starting pitcher and is able to do so, a return to the Mets would seem unlikely, but if he ends up being open to returning to the role he had this year, he could help the Mets.

Erasmo Ramírez: If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Ramirez pitched for the Mets in the shortened 2020 season. His 2021 season with the Tigers went very poorly, as he had a 5.74 ERA in 26.2 innings, but he bounced back very nicely with a 2.92 ERA and a 4.05 FIP in 86.1 innings with the Nationals this year. Still just 32 years old, Ramirez could be a serviceable middle reliever.

Carlos Estévez: A right-handed pitcher, Estevez will turn 30 in December and has spent all of his time in the big leagues with the Rockies. In total, he has a 4.59 ERA for his career, and all of his appearances have come out of the bullpen. This year, he had a 3.47 ERA and a 4.08 FIP, both of which are respectable considering the home ballpark in which he pitched. His strikeout rates have never been all that high, but it’s worth noting that his ERA at Coors Field is 5.57, while he has a 3.51 ERA in his appearances everywhere else, and our friends over at Purple Row wrote him up recently if you’d like to read more about him.

Vince Velasquez: There as a time that Velasquez was considered an integral piece of the Phillies’ rotation. His time in Philadelphia came to an end last year when the team traded him to the Padres, but his season did not go well with either team. He landed with the White Sox this year, and in his age-30 season, Velasquez had a 4.78 ERA and a 4.25 FIP in 75.1 innings, having started the season in the White Sox’ rotation before being moved to the bullpen. For what it’s worth, his ERA was a full run better as a reliever than as a starter. But his overall body of work was a couple of notches down from what Trevor Williams gave the Mets this year.