In this emotionally transactional season, when we seem to exchange our adoration for victories and withhold our affection when dealt defeats, the Mets have gotten to transacting in earnest. With the Thursday 6 PM trade deadline approaching, they acquired two high-profile relievers before the sun set on Wednesday. Admittedly, at no time amid San Diego’s 5-0 whitewashing [1] of the Mets late Wednesday afternoon did I think, “We’d really be in this game right now if we had a better bullpen.” But, boy, have I thought that a lot this year.
So now we have a better bullpen. Who knew that thinking about it would bring it forth? More likely, it has something to do with David Stearns and everybody whose input he values thinking we needed a better bullpen. Nobody watching the Mets hasn’t been thinking that. Plan A — try to get by with random relievers attempting to record crucial outs — didn’t work so well. Maybe acquiring guys with good arms and great reps will help.
It won’t help the offense. The offense was helpless against Yu Darvish & Co. at Petco Park, same as it was futile the night before against whoever threw confounding pitches past virtually every Mets batter. The defense hasn’t been so hot, either, and the starting pitchers are still grappling with issues of endurance or performance or both. The Mets were swept three in San Diego. Two of the games were not going to be reversed had the Mets already obtained the services of our newest setup saviors, Tyler Rogers [2] and Ryan Helsley [3]. Maybe one of the games would have had a better outcome with such accomplished relievers bridging starter to closer. Those very relievers will now be asked to accomplish wonders on behalf of the Mets. On this team, three stress-free outs can be a wonder. In this season, when the Phillies shadow us and we shadow the Phillies, one win can make a ton of difference.
Gone, to get Rogers from the Giants, are one guy we previously relied on, Jose Butto; one guy we got a glimpse of, Blade Tidwell; and one guy whose name caused modest stirrings in our prospect-anticipant souls, Drew Gilbert. Gilbert was part of the Steve Cohen Supplemental Draft [4] haul of two trade deadlines ago. The Mets were in a different place with different priorities that July. Getting Gilbert seemed a coup then. The Mets are in another place this July, tenuously in first place, a position requiring the kind of securing Rogers has been brought in to provide.
Helsley from St. Louis cost one minor leaguer I had heard of, Jesus Baez, and two I hadn’t, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissant, which doesn’t mean they don’t have futures. The future is very much the present for these Mets. Recent appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, these Mets were built to win. Yet the present has been leaky of late. It had been solid as recently as the series in San Francisco that preceded the series in San Diego. Our bullpen was fortified by the arrival of Gregory Soto when we were in Northern California. The same Soto took the first loss in San Diego [5]. Rogers and Helsley are probably going to have a bad inning or two, too, which will possibly translate to Met loss or two. The trick here is to trust that established relievers who’ve been having fine years will have many more good innings than bad, which will, in turn, lead to more Mets wins than losses. It all looks so logical before Jeremy Hefner picks up the phone and somebody starts getting loose.
The Mets could definitely use more wins. They’ve suddenly stopped accumulating them. They need more than a better bullpen, but it appears they have a better bullpen, at least. We’ve seen enough innings to tell us that ain’t nothin’.