BT and Sal took a look at the Mets bullpen depth chart with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in about a month, and neither were particularly bullish on the relief arms they have, even with Edwin Diaz returning from knee surgery.
Drew Smith, Brooks Raley, Jorge Lopez, Michael Tonkin, Phil Bickford, and Yohan Ramirez were not enough to get Sal excited for 2024.
"I don't think I'd be able to pick 90 percent of those guys out of a lineup," Sal said. "That's bad.
"I don't know what exactly I'm basing my thoughts off of as far as the Mets being a playoff team…but when you actually look at their rotation on paper, their bullpen on paper…Drew Smith is horrible, and he's supposed to be one of their better arms now."
The Mets bullpen was an issue last season, even with David Robertson filling in nicely for Diaz before he was traded, but now, Robertson is gone, as is Adan Ottavino, and even with Diaz back in the fold, the bridge to their elite closer seems awfully shaky for the Mets right now.
"My fear is," BT said. "I don't know what you're handing Diaz often."
