The New York Mets continue to allocate resources toward their bullpen. It was just reported by Michael Mayer of Metsmerized that the Mets signed left-hander relief pitcher T.J. McFarland to a minor league deal.
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Mets add more bullpen depth with T.J. McFarland:
McFarland has 10 years of MLB experience and played in 351 games. He spent his first four years with Mets manager Buck Showalter (2013-16) with the Baltimore Orioles, then three years (2017-19) with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before a year with the Oakland Athletics, and then, the last two years with the St. Louis Cardinals.
His career ERA is 4.13, and he struggled in 2022, posting a 6.61. As recently as 2021, however, McFarland had an awesome year, recording a 2.56 ERA over 38 appearances (0.8 WAR). That was still the second-best of his 10-year career, following the 2.00 he had in 2018 in 47 games (career-best 1.6 WAR).
The left-hander turns 34 years old in June. He has a 24-15 career record. McFarland has put together seasons consisting of 58 and 42 strikeouts. The 58 came in his first year as a rookie, and the 42 in his best single season, 2018.
McFarland has gained minimal starting experience throughout his decade-long career. He has started just three games in 351 total MLB appearances. McFarland offers the Mets relief pitching exclusively.
Aside from the big splash moves made by the Mets to their bullpen this offseason, Edwin Diaz, David Robertson, Brooks Raley, and Adam Ottavino, they have pursued depth strongly as well. McFarland joins Jeff Brigham, Elieser Hernandez, Stephen Ridings, Denyi Reyes, and Jimmy Yacabonis all as other relief pitching additions made this offseason. From top to bottom, the Mets have certainly attacked their biggest weakness from a year ago.