The New York Mets are not done adding to their bullpen. Per a recent report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets are one of the teams in on left-handed relief pitcher, Andrew Chafin. Heyman also shared that the Mets have talked to another left-handed reliever in, Zack Britton.
The market for Chafin is supposedly “heating up now,” Heyman stated. Per Andy Martino of SNY, Chafin is in talks with eight teams, the Mets being one of them. Martino suggested that it seems likely Chafin signs with a team “in the next few days.”
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Andrew Chafin and Zack Britton are logical fits for the New York Mets:
This offseason, the Mets have made a concerted effort to revamp their poor bullpen from 2022. It started from the jump of free agency, keeping Edwin Diaz on a massive five-year contract. They re-signed their second-best bullpen pitcher from last season as well, Adam Ottavino. In free agency, they added David Robertson. Billy Eppler also got active in the trade market, acquiring Brooks Raley.
Diaz, Robertson, Raley, and Ottavino give the Mets a very encouraging top-four pitchers in their bullpen. From the group, the only left-hander is Raley. It would be shrewd of the Mets to add one more left-hander to complement Raley, which is where Chafin and Britton come into play. If so, they complete this offseason rebuild to the bullpen, putting the group over the top.
Starting with Chafin, he has been utterly dominant over the last two years. In 2021, he posted a ridiculous 1.83 ERA. He followed that up with a 2.83 ERA last season. Over nine MLB seasons (476 games), Chafin has a 3.23 ERA. Chafin recorded 64 strikeouts in 2021, followed by 67 in 2022. He is still only 32.
Then, with Britton, there is familiarity with Buck Showalter, as the two spent eight years together (2011-18) with the Baltimore Orioles. Britton recently turned 35 and has been in the MLB for the last 12 years. Over 442 career games, he has a 3.13 ERA—similar career production to Chafin. Britton was terrific in 2019 with a 1.91 ERA and in 2020 when he posted a 1.89 ERA. His career year was exceptional in 2016, when he posted an overbearing 0.54 ERA.
It is very encouraging to hear that the Mets are still looking for upgrades to their bullpen. Signing Chafin or Britton at this point in free agency to go along with Diaz, Ottavino, Robertson, and Raley drastically improves the Mets bullpen going into next season.