The New York Mets Still Have Work To Do in Fixing the Bullpen
Without Edwin Diaz, the Mets have serious question marks in their bullpen. Here is how they can answer them.
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The MLB offseason is long, and even with light at the end of the tunnel and spring training a little more than a month away, the New York Mets still have work to do.
So far, the winter in Queens has been headlined more by subtraction than addition. Three franchise stalwarts — Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso — departed either by trade or free agency. While the Mets are reportedly still in the market for Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez, none of those moves address an area that is simply not good enough heading into the season: the bullpen.
Even before Diaz’s departure, the Mets were proactive in signing Devin Williams, arguably the second-best option on the open market. However, the original plan was for Williams to set up Diaz. Now, Williams, who is not without his flaws, is slated to be the Mets’ closer.
Then, roughly a week after Stearns watched as Diaz switched coasts and hooked up with the mighty Dodgers on a three-year contract, he inked Luke Weaver, poaching yet another former Yankee. On that same day, the division-rival Phillies scooped up Brad Keller, a relief arm who is coming off a year far superior to Weaver.
Each of the three relievers that Stearns grabbed at the 2025 trade deadline — Gregory Soto, Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers — has walked in free agency, for good or for bad.
As far as in-house options, there was not much after losing Diaz. Reed Garrett and Dedniel Núñez figure to miss most of, if not the entire 2026 season, after undergoing respective Tommy John surgeries. Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter are both reliable veteran southpaws, but Raley is 37 years old, and Minter is coming off surgery on his left lat, which sidelined him for most of ‘25.
Is there a world in which a quartet of Williams, Weaver, Raley and Minter holds strong and is a formidable back end? Yes, but between on-field inconsistencies, injuries, and aging, Stearns must get to work if he wants to build a bulletproof relief corps.
How Big Is the Loss of Diaz?
It is not hard to make an argument that Diaz is the best reliever in baseball. In nine big-league seasons, he has been named the league’s Reliever of the Year on three separate occasions (2018 AL, 2022 NL, 2025 NL).
This past season, he went a near-perfect 28-for-31 on saves, pitching to a 1.63 ERA in 66 ⅓ innings. It would be a career year for many, but Diaz also has a 1.31 ERA and 17.1 K/9 to boast from ‘22, and a 57-save campaign in 2018 on his ledger.
From a team standpoint, Diaz was the one piece of the Mets bullpen that never wavered in 2025. Minter was solid before going down in late April. Garrett was great in the spring (0.76 ERA through the end of May), but then struggled in the summer before suffering an elbow injury. Raley was not added into the fold until the summer after his own bout with Tommy John.
Diaz, on the other hand, was there for the final three (or more) outs every night, succeeding more often than not. With all the struggles that manager Carlos Mendoza had getting 27 outs per night, Diaz recorded more than three outs on 12 occasions.
Last year, New York fell victim to having a very top-heavy bullpen. Diaz was great, but not many others were. Rogers was the only deadline addition that enjoyed any success while internal guys either struggled or got hurt (or both).
Now, the Mets are running the risk of suffering a similar problem, except without the star in Diaz to bail them out.
The Replacements
Williams and Weaver are solid options, but neither one is perfect.
A year ago today, Williams had a valid claim to being the premier closer in the sport. In six years with the Brewers, he saved 68 games and pitched to a 1.83 ERA. With a year remaining before hitting free agency, Milwaukee sent him to the Bronx.
Things instantly went sideways in his new home. After controversy over the Yankees’ long-standing beard policy, Williams struggled, holding a 6.53 ERA after two months. Despite showing signs of improvement throughout the season and playoffs, where he threw four scoreless innings, Williams’ overall season was unimpressive.
Nonetheless, his track record of success made him appealing to the Mets. Even during a rough year, take a look at his strong peripheral numbers.
After his success late in the year and his strong underlying metrics, a bounce back from Williams seems all the more likely, and the Mets hope that they can revert him to the version that saved 36 games and held a 1.53 ERA in 2023.
As for Weaver, he was a failed starter who bounced around for a decade. In 2024, he found a home in the Yankee bullpen and flourished down the stretch and in the postseason. In 84 innings during the ‘24 season, Weaver posted a 2.89 ERA and struck out over 10 per nine innings. He got even better come October, as he carried the Yankees’ bullpen to the World Series, holding a 1.76 ERA in 15 ⅓ innings.
He dealt with a hamstring problem during the 2025 season, while his ERA sat at 3.62.
Similar to Williams, Weaver is not a bad option, but his resumé leaves a lot to be desired when tasked with replacing Diaz’s heroics.
How Can They Add?
As mentioned above, Minter and Raley are both solid options from the left side.
Minter owns a 3.23 career ERA in over 300 innings. In 13 games in Queens in 2025, he pitched to a 1.64 ERA and struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings. Raley threw 25 ⅔ innings late in the season and became Mendoza’s most reliable bridge to Diaz. He walked just six batters all year en route to a 2.45 ERA.
All four of Williams, Weaver, Minter and Raley have spent significant time on the injured list in the past two years, and behind those four, you would be hard-pressed to find a proven, viable option.
Dylan Ross is an exciting reliever prospect who was called up late in 2025. However, he did not appear in a game. He pitched to a 1.69 ERA in 32 innings in Triple-A Syracuse in 2025. Ross will hopefully play a major role in 2026, but relying on someone with zero big-league experience is foolish.
Otherwise, Huascar Brazoban is still on the Mets’ 40-man roster but pitched through his own inconsistencies in 2025, even getting optioned to the minors in July. Even so, he finished the year with a 3.57 ERA.
Outside of Williams and Weaver, most of the Mets’ pitching additions this offseason have been depth pickups, mostly of the minor-league variety.
Unfortunately for Stearns, many of the high-profile relievers have signed. Still, there are a few names still available and likely for a low price tag.
Seranthony Dominguez had a 3.16 ERA in a full-season split between Baltimore and Toronto, while Shelby Miller pitched to a 2.72 ERA in 46 innings between Arizona and Milwaukee.
Both are free agents.
Stearns was rumored to have talked to the San Diego Padres, who possess a stable of high-leverage relief options. Namely, fireballer Mason Miller was discussed, however Jon Heyman reported on Thursday that talks went nowhere. Other options that San Diego can offer are lefty Adrian Morejon and righty Jeremiah Estrada.
As part of Just Baseball’s “Playing GM” series, we floated the idea of signing Dominguez and trading for Morejon on December 16.
The Mets’ reluctance to go the extra mile for Diaz and fill in the pen behind Williams and Weaver has put them in a precarious spot. With roughly a month to go until pitchers and catchers report, the addition of a guy like Dominguez or Miller would go a long way.
On the trade front, a blockbuster seems more and more unlikely by the day, as Stearns has seemingly shifted his attention to adding some offensive firepower in the wake of Alonso, Nimmo and Jeff McNeil’s departures.
Otherwise, as it currently stands, the Mets’ bullpen should not instill confidence in Stearns, Mendoza or the fanbase.
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An aspiring sportswriter, George Caratzas' life is centered around the diamond. Based in the New York metro area, he covers the New York Mets for Just…