BULL MARKET
Amazin’s have stockpiled arms to solve glaring pen weakness
CHICAGO — There is stockpiling and then there is the all-out blitz the Mets unleashed in the past six weeks on revitalizing a farm system devoid of bullpen talent.
On Tuesday, the f inal piece of the organization’s summer trades was identified, when reliever Eric Hanhold was sent from the Brewers as the player to be named later in the August deal for Neil Walker.
In total, the Mets traded f ive players (Lucas Duda, Addison Reed, Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson and Walker) with expiring contracts — shedding about $12 million in the process — and acquired seven power bullpen arms. Two of those relievers, Jamie Callahan and Jacob Rhame were added to the Mets roster as September call-ups. Rhame allowed a run on two hits in an anning of work in Tuesday night’s 8-3 loss to the Cubs. That doesn’t include ve te ra n AJ Ramos, who arrived from the Marlins at the trade deadline and will figure prominently in the Mets bullpen next season.
Team officials believe a glaring need has been addressed, but that won’t prevent the club from pursuing one or two veteran options this offseason to complement the returning bullpen core: Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins.
Of the newcomers, Callahan, Rhame, Drew Smith and Gershon Bautista are deemed as potentially capable of helping the Mets next season, according to sources.
The newest arrival, the 23-yearold Hanhold, went 8-3 with a 3.94 ERA in 30 appearances this season at Single-A for the Brewers. The right-hander is listed at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, and was the Brewers’ s i xt h- ro und pick in the 2015 draft. Other than veloc- ity, team officials were impressed with the spin rates the newly acquired relievers have demonstrated with their respective curveballs.
“Rhame and Callahan, they both have outstanding arms and I am really impressed with the way they have gone about things,” manager Terry Collins said before the Mets faced the Cubs at Wrigley Field. “They have come in and thrown the ball over the plate so I think those are two very good pieces.”
Bautista, who arrived with Callahan and Stephen Nogosek in the deal that sent Reed to Boston, is considered to have the highest upside of the bunch — the righthander has 100-mph heat — but also might be the biggest wild card because of control issues.
But the bullpen has also been identified as a point of emphasis heading to the offseason — Wade Davis, Luke Gregerson and Reed are
among the relievers headed to free agency the Mets could pursue.
Familia missed most of this season rehabbing from surgery to remove a blood clot from his right shoulder, dramatically altering a bullpen that entered play Tuesday 22nd in the major leagues with a 4.52 ERA.
The Mets have a $7 million club option on the lefty Blevins that is sure to be picked up.
“You look at the other side where you go out and get AJ Ramos, you got yourself a quality closer and combine him with a healthy Jeurys Familia, that is pretty nice pieces,” Collins said. “And you know you have [Blevins] coming back, so what we are trying to establish is a few other guys to pick up their game a little bit and work on a couple of things that will make them a little bit more effective. But when you have got four or five pieces that are pretty solid, that helps your bullpen a lot.”