Mets Bullpen Proving To Be a Strong Backbone in 2025
The New York Mets' relievers have stepped up early in the season to help support an underperforming offense.
Stats taken prior to play on Wednesday, April 9.
Recent versions of the New York Mets have had many different identities. The 2015 National League champion club was carried by a star-studded starting rotation, headlined by Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard.
When the Mets won 101 games in 2022, they relied heavily on a lineup that produced the third-highest OPS+ in Major League Baseball. While closer Edwin Díaz had a historically good season, the team’s bullpen was just okay.
This has been a trend of recent New York clubs, as closing out games has been a problem. After all, the 2019 team — which went 86-76 — blew plenty of saves, as Díaz struggled in his first season in orange and blue. He pitched to a 5.59 ERA and blew seven games as the closer.
Despite acquiring Juan Soto to bolster an already strong lineup, the 2025 Mets have so far been carried by a surprising unit: the bullpen.
Two weeks into the season, New York is 8-3 and has yet to lose a game in which it had a lead. The Mets have posted a 1.27 team bullpen ERA, which is by far the best figure in the league. New York’s group of relievers has allowed seven runs in 42 ⅔ innings.
Throughout his career as an MLB executive, president of baseball operations David Stearns has created strong bullpens without breaking the bank. This year’s Mets are no exception. Outside Díaz and A.J. Minter, none of manager Carlos Mendoza’s relief options are particularly high-profile players, with none of them making much money.
Additionally, pitching coaching Jeremy Hefner has a history of reviving pitchers’ careers, whether it be Aaron Loup in 2021 or Reed Garrett last year.
With the offense slumping (at least until Tuesday’s big win), let’s take a deeper dive into the success of Mendoza’s relief corps.
The Middle Innings
A major strength of the Mets is bridging the gap between the starting pitcher and the back-end of the game. Mendoza’s bullpen boasts three relievers that can go multiple innings with ease, all of whom are having stellar seasons.
To start, Jose Butto has picked up where he left off last season. After posting a 2.55 ERA in 74 innings a year ago, the Venezuelan right-hander has gotten off to another good start. In 7 ⅓ innings pitched, Butto has allowed just one earned run while giving up five hits.
In all of his four outings, he has gotten at least five outs, going a full two innings twice. He excels in creating soft contact, as his 28.6% hard-hit rate is in the 83rd percentile, while he produces ground balls in the 87th percentile in baseball.
After he spent much of his young professional career as a starter, the Mets saw something in Max Kranick and stuck him in the bullpen following a strong spring. In seven innings, Kranick has allowed just one baserunner and no runs.
Despite not being a high-strikeout option, Kranick’s control (demonstrated by his zero walks or hit batsmen in 2025) has made him a major weapon for Mendoza.
Finally, Huascar Brazoban is potentially the biggest surprise on the entire roster. After coming from Miami in a mid-season trade last season, Brazoban struggled mightily — especially in the strike-throwing department. He walked 14 batters in 21 innings for the Mets last season, pitching to a 5.14 ERA.
This year has been a complete 180. Brazoban has walked just one batter in 8 ⅓ innings while striking out seven batters. He has been good for two or more innings in three of his five outings, with one exception being a save against the Marlins on April 2.
While Butto is deployed as a late-game, multi-inning reliever, Brazoban and Kranick have impressed with their abilities to bridge the middle part of the game. The Mets starters have totaled just 55 ⅓ innings this season, the eighth-fewest in MLB. Nonetheless, the efforts of Brazoban and Kranick have helped “save” the rest of the pen.
Late Innings
Once the ball is out of the hands of the aforementioned trio, the next line of arms for the Mets has performed just as well.
Garrett broke out for New York last year, throwing a career-high 57 ⅓ innings to the tune of a 3.77 ERA. At times, he dealt with overuse and control problems, evidenced by his 4.7 walks per nine innings (BB/9).
With support from other areas of the bullpen, Garrett has fewer innings to cover, which has allowed his stuff to take the next step. He has yet to allow a run in five innings and has walked just one batter.
Additionally, Mendoza has used Garrett primarily to get out of jams. On April 4, Garrett entered a game with two runners on and one out before striking out a pair to sidestep the threat.
The Mets lacked a true left-handed weapon last season, as Danny Young was the most-used southpaw in Mendoza’s deck. This was an area of emphasis in the offseason, as Stearns inked Minter to a two-year deal.
Minter is returning from hip surgery and has had a rocky first few outings with his new club. The former Brave threw a scoreless outing in his Mets debut but then allowed a pair of runs against the Marlins on April 2.
Since then, he has turned in three scoreless outings, striking out six batters in 2 ⅓ innings. Minter will play a big role in shutting down games for New York.
Like Brazoban, Ryne Stanek arrived at last year’s trade deadline. He also struggled after coming over from Seattle. Despite pitching well in the postseason, it was up in the air if he would return to the Mets for 2025. Ultimately, Stearns brought back the 33-year old fireballer, who has served as Mendoza’s primary setup man this year.
While he has thrown the fewest innings of anyone on the staff, Stanek has gone 2 ⅓ scoreless frames, picking up his first save of the season on April 7. Along the way, he has registered a pair of strikeouts.
Of the Mets’ eight wins, five of them have been decided by three or fewer runs, meaning the relievers have been pressed into heavy-duty action.
The final line of defense for New York is its closer.
The Closer
As mentioned earlier, Díaz enjoyed a historic season in 2022. He pitched to a 1.31 ERA in 62 innings while striking out 17.1 batters per nine. From there, he signed the largest contract of any relief pitcher in baseball history before suffering a knee injury in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
After injury sidelined him for the entire 2023 season, Díaz returned in 2024 but was inconsistent. Now over two years removed from the initial tear in his patellar tendon, Díaz has been nails for the Mets to start 2025.
While he walked 20 batters in 53 ⅔ innings in 2024, Díaz’s control has improved this season, as he has yet to walk a batter in four scoreless innings. He has appeared in four games, finishing three of them and recording two saves.
The one concern with Díaz was a dip in his fastball velocity during spring training. So far, the dip is something worth noting, as his average fastball velocity has dropped from 97.5 mph last year to 96.9 mph in 2025. However, this has yet to be problematic, as Diaz has still struck out six batters in four innings pitched.
New York will only go as far as its closer will take it. Despite the team’s winning record in 2019, Díaz’s struggles played a big role in the Mets missing the playoffs that year. Then, his success in 2022 carried a bullpen that was otherwise pretty mediocre. Without him in 2023, the Mets ‘pen was left in shambles.
So far, Díaz looks like he is an anchor at the back end of games for a Mets group of relievers that has been elite to start 2025.
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