Nearly a week ago, left-hander Jake Diekman became an unlikely Mets hero when he struck out Aaron Judge in the bottom of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium, securing a Subway Series win for the team from Queens. But after giving up three earned runs to the Atlanta Braves over the weekend in two outings, the Mets decided they had seen enough of the veteran lefty’s struggles.
The Mets designated Diekman for assignment Monday and called up Matt Gage from Triple-A Syracuse. Diekman was 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA in 32 innings this year (43 appearances), with four saves, eight holds and three blown saves. Manager Carlos Mendoza will now have to rely on two unproven left-handers in Gage and Danny Young when it comes to getting out left-handed hitters in the late innings.
“Not an easy one,” Mendoza said Monday of the decision to designate Diekman. “Especially when you’re dealing with a guy like Diekman who has been with us since spring training all the way to this point. That’s a long time. He was such a professional. He was always willing to take the baseball and when it was hard for him, when going through his struggles and things like that, he was always available.”
A 37-year-old veteran of nearly 13 years, Diekman was fiery when he needed to be (tossing the water cooler at the dugout wall comes to mind), but he could quickly turn the page on a bad outing. However, the bad outings added up. Diekman wasn’t the same pitcher that he was for the Tampa Bay Rays last season when he posted a 2.18 ERA over 45 1/3 innings.
“He always wanted to be there, but we got to a point where we needed to make a decision back there,” Mendoza said. “We decided to go that route.”
The bullpen has been in a state of near constant turnover since the start of the season. Of the eight relievers the Mets carried on the Opening Day roster, only Edwin Diaz and Adam Ottavino remain. Sean Reid-Foley is on the injured list and Drew Smith and Brooks Raley are out for the season.
No team goes into the season with the same bullpen they end it with, so the Mets are not unique in this situation. While David Stearns and his front office have done a good job of finding undermined role players like Jose Iglesias, they haven’t been as successful with relief pitchers. Injuries to key prospects like Nate Lavender and Grant Hartwig haven’t helped either.
The rotating door of relievers has been challenging for Mendoza to navigate.
“You’ve got to get familiar with a lot of these guys,” Mendoza said. “You don’t know how comfortable they are either going back-to-back or going multiple innings, how quick they recover, situations in the game like whether you will give them a clean eating or coming in with runners on. So there’s a lot to learn here from a lot of these guys that you’re not very familiar with it, and that’s kind of been the biggest thing.”
The strategic part of managing a bullpen has been easier for Mendoza.
“As far as making decisions, like when to throw them and when to face different parts of the lineup, that’s been fine,” Mendoza said. “It’s just more like getting familiar with it here.”
Gage is an Upstate New York native who played college baseball for Siena College. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 5 1/3 innings with Syracuse after being picked up on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 31-year-old has logged 19 2/3 innings in the big leagues in his career and throws a two-seamer and a cutter, and gets right and left-handed hitters out.
Still, he’s unproven. The Mets have already made two trades to bolster the bullpen by bringing in Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek. A move for a more established lefty would benefit the bullpen tremendously, but just about every team in the mix for a playoff spot is looking for reliable relief help and the prices are high.
A lack of left-handed pitching has plagued the Mets for three seasons now, but they may have to work with what they have.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Harrison Bader returned to the lineup after missing the last five games with a sore ankle. … Francisco Alvarez sat out Monday as a precautionary move with a sore shoulder. The Mets don’t believe the injury to be serious and are managing his workload to be able to keep him off the injured list. … Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) will continue his rehab assignment Wednesday, possibly at a higher level. He pitched 2/3 of an inning for High-A Brooklyn on Saturday, giving up two earned runs on two hits and a walk, throwing 23 pitches.
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