Mets Got Better After Trading Away Half Their Bullpen

The New York Mets traded away half their bullpen at the deadline, and the risk afterward was that they’d just turned their major strength into a glaring weakness. 

But that hasn’t happened. Instead the Mets have turned a bunch of retread relievers and promising young pitchers into a better bullpen, which has to be one of the biggest positive suprises of their disappointing season. 

“They’re all here because they belong. They’re all here because they want to be here in the future,” interim manager Andy Green said before Friday’s 10-6 win over the San Francisco Giants in a piece written by Tim Britton of The Athletic. “They all have a lot of work to continue to do, but I don’t think you can look at it any other way but to be encouraged through the first month.”

The two obvious standouts are left-hander Nate Lavender and righty Daniel Duarte. Lavender made his big-league debut on Aug. 4, and he still hasn’t given up his first earned run as a Met after making 13 appearances. He’s struck out 15 hitters in 13 innings while walking just three, with his only hiccup coming on a blown save when he allowed the ghost runner to score. 

“The biggest thing I’ve learned is to trust my strengths, to rely on the strengths that got me here,” Lavender said. “The job description is always the same: How can I get this guy out of the batter’s box?”

Duarte’s development is just as surprising. The 29-year old reliever has been a journeyman to date, with most of his big league appearances coming with the Cincinnati Reds. He’s allowed a run in just four of his 21 outings, per Britton, and Duarte and Lavender have given the Mets something close to a shut-down bullpen. 

Beware, however. As Britton noted, late-season evaluations for relievers can be notoriously tricky, and it’s not unusual for relievers who are brilliant for a struggling team in August and September to show up in spring training and look like they never had that good run. 

“For me, the two months give you a window into who they are,” Green said. “The thing about this game at the major-league level is you’ve got to show up again in spring training, you’ve got to show up again and do it in the season. You’ve got to keep showing up. The best relievers in the game show up year after year after year.

“It’s not where you had a great August in 2026, and therefore you deserve to pitch here for the next three years. It’s not like that.”

The Mets won’t pencil any of these pitchers in, although Lavender is solidifying a spot given that he drew trade interest before the Mets threw him into the fire. They do give the Mets hope, though, and that’s something that’s badly needed as New York’s lost season draws to a close.