The final piece the New York Mets vastly improved bullpen could use this offseason is one more left-hander.
At the moment, the Mets have an exciting top four to their bullpen with Edwin Diaz, David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, and Brooks Raley. The lone left-handed arm from that group is Raley, and the Mets would be wise to give him some help with an addition.
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New York Mets among clubs looking at LHP Zack Britton:
Early in the evening yesterday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the “Mets are among teams to have shown interest in Zack Britton.” Heyman also stated how Britton has eight years of experience with Buck Showalter (2011-18) from their time with the Baltimore Orioles. Also, Britton has a “close relationship” with Dom Chiti, a new Mets coach, as they spent three years (2014-16) with the Orioles.
Britton has 12 years of MLB experience. He spent his first seven and a half years with the Orioles before the last four and a half with the Yankees. Over his career, he has appeared in 442 games with a 3.13 ERA.
Britton had a special, dominant seven-year run from 2014-20 in which every year, he had an ERA of 3.10 or better. His career year, 2016, was highlighted by an unbelievable 0.54 ERA.
He recorded a 1.65 in 2014, followed by a 1.92 in 2015. Similar success was had in 2019 and 2020 when he posted a 1.89, then a 1.91 earned run average.
The downside is that the left-handed reliever recently turned 35 and missed most of 2022 (just three appearances) due to recovering from Tommy John surgery. So there is some concern that comes along with signing Britton for the Mets.
In the end, with Diaz, Robertson, Raley, and Ottavino, the pressure would be off Britton in a complementary role. What the Mets could use though, is a talented, proven left-hander to round out this revamped bullpen that Britton could potentially give them.