The New York Mets are set to enter the All-Star break in the final wild-card spot and three games over .500 (49-46), which seemed unthinkable at the end of May.
Despite all the recent success, the blue and orange bullpen, which has been ravaged by injuries and dealt with key players’ underperformance, has gone from a strength to a weakness.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has begun acquiring reinforcements by trading for Matt Gage, who is currently pitching for Triple-A Syracuse but is expected to be in the bullpen at some point, and Phil Maton, who already has made two appearances for the blue and orange.
However, more needs to be done, and a potential option could be acquiring a former elite reliever who was recently designated for an assignment.
The Mets should consider a trade for Nick Anderson
On Saturday, the Kansas City Royals beefed up their bullpen by acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Washington Nationals. To make room on the roster for Harvey, they designated Nick Anderson for assignment.
Anderson has pitched 35.2 innings across 37 appearances this season to a 4.04 ERA with a 1.402 WHIP and 29 strikeouts. The right-hander has recorded two holds and a save as well.
The Minnesota native has been one of the better relievers in baseball since debuting in 2019, pitching 158.1 innings across 165 appearances to a 3.18 ERA and 1.093 WHIP with 202 strikeouts.
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Why Anderson would make sense for the Mets
Acquiring Anderson would make plenty of sense for the blue and orange. The 34-year-old, despite being DFA’d, has still put up solid numbers this season and would provide an upgrade in the Mets bullpen.
In addition, with the Minnesota native being DFA’d, the cost would not be much more than cash considerations. It would follow the model Stearns has used over his last two reliever acquisitions in acquiring pitchers with tremendous upside for low cost.
Time will tell if the Mets acquire Anderson, but with the bullpen needing as much help as it does, they should at least give the 34-year-old a look.
