SEATTLE — The Mets are about to have an influx of relievers returning to the bullpen, which is a good problem to have, but it’s not yet clear how the Mets will use all of their arms.
Right-hander Reed Garrett was activated off the injured list Saturday and left-hander Alex Young was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding transaction. The Mets don’t plan to slot Garrett into a high-leverage role right away, but they also haven’t ruled it out. Manager Carlos Mendoza said they’d like to ease him back into competition for at least the first outing or two, though the manager noted the game “never works the way you plan it.”
“We might be sitting here for an extra inning game and say, ‘Go get it, big boy,’” Mendoza said Saturday at T-Mobile Park. “We’re just excited to have him back. He’s feeling good, he’s a huge addition to our bullpen and we’ll see how the game unfolds.”
Right-handers Sean Reid-Foley and Dedniel Nuñez are also closer to returns. Nuñez and Garrett are multi-inning relievers who have pitched in high-leverage innings, but the Mets added two high-leverage arms in trades last month, right-handers Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek. The Mets don’t want to overload Garrett right away and could take the same approach with Nuñez once he returns.
It still leaves the Mets short on lefties, with Danny Young being the only southpaw in the ‘pen. Garrett, Nuñez, Maton and Stanek are mostly neutral splits, while Huascar Brazobán has been better against left-handed hitters than right this season, limiting lefties to a .164 average this season and righties to a .197 clip.
Veteran righty Adam Ottavino had good splits against left-handed hitters last season, but the pitcher who struggled throughout much of his career against lefties is once again getting hit by them. They’ve hit .295 with three home runs off Ottavino this season. Contrast that with his .188 average against right-handed hitters with only one home run, and Ottavino seems to be reverting to his old ways.
It’s been a strange year for Ottavino. A leader in the clubhouse and a mentor for several pitchers, he’s 2-2 with a 4.43 ERA, but he also has 14 holds, which is tied for the 13th-most in the NL. The 38-year-old Brooklyn native was recently demoted to a low-leverage spot and did well there until Friday when he allowed an earned run and an inherited runner scored in the Mets’ loss to the Seattle Mariners.
It snapped a streak of six innings without an earned run.
“I think other than the month of May, he’s been pretty consistent for us,, and I feel like that month was hard for a lot of people,” Mendoza said. “[It was hard] for us as a team and a lot of our bullpen guys, and he was one of them, but he found a way as he always done. He’s been pretty consistent for us. This is a guy that takes the baseball and you could use him any time in the game, and you know he’s going to be ready.”
The returns of Reid-Foley and Nuñez call into question Ottavino’s status. Brazobán has minor league options, as does Nuñez, but Reid-Foley does not. The Mets could send Brazobán to Triple-A Syracuse in order to keep Ottavino around, or they could option Young and go without a left-hander.
However, the Mets don’t have to make a decision right away. For now, Garrett is ready to get back to work. Aside from his first rehab outing with Double-A Binghamton (three earned runs on four hits and one walk in 1/3 of an inning), he got good results during his assignment and his elbow is healthy once again.
“A little bit of bad luck and a little bit of [making] bad pitches,” he said of his outing last weekend against Double-A New Hampshire.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) will throw one inning for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday while Nuñez (pronator strain) throws his first bullpen at Citi Field. Outfielder Starling Marte will play in the field for at least seven innings with Double-A Binghamton.