Mets option Brigham to Syracuse, send McFarland and Yacabonis to minor league camp

Mar 26, 2023 - 4:13 PM

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The Mets have optioned right-handed relief pitcher Jeff Brigham to Triple-A Syracuse, and they’ve sent fellow righty Jimmy Yacabonis and the left-handed T.J. McFarland to minor league camp, as well.

With Tommy Hunter having made the team and Edwin Díaz out long term, the bullpen will be anchored by David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, and Drew Smith. As Anthony DiComo points out on Twitter, all of those moves leave four pitchers in big league camp the mix for the final three spots in the Mets’ Opening Day bullpen: John Curtiss, Stephen Nogosek, Dennis Santana, Elieser Hernández.

Curtiss and Hernández have options, but Nogosek and Santana do not. Given the composition of the rest of the bullpen, Hernández would presumably be the odd man out, especially if the Mets see him as a rotation depth piece who would need to stay stretched out in the minors. But Santana’s body of work—a 5.22 ERA last year and a 5.12 ERA for his career as a major league pitcher—leaves a lot to be desired.