State of Mets Bullpen

As the 2013 Mets season limped to a finish last September, I wrote that for the first time in Sandy Alderson’s reign as GM, no bullpen overhaul was needed in the off-season. Many readers took issue with me, but Alderson apparently agreed because he has ignored the bullpen this winter, until recently. So what is the state of the Mets bullpen right now?

I think the bullpen looks good. Bobby Parnell said Monday that he is a couple of weeks behind in his rehab from neck surgery, but he should be ready to be the closer on Opening Day.

Lefties Josh Edgin and Scott Rice also finished 2013 on operating tables and should be recovered and ready to regain their form.

The hard-throwing Vic Black looked really good in his limited time late in the season and could emerge as the eighth inning guy. Carlos Torres and Gonzalez Germen appear to be solid middle-inning guys.

The last spot could come down to one of the young pitchers, such as Jeurys Familia, Jack Leathersich or Jeff Walters. Or a veteran like Kyle Farnsworth could emerge in Spring Training.

This group looks very promising, so much so that it was surprising that the Mets reportedly offered Grant Balfour $12 million for two years or that they were sniffing around Fernando Rodney before he signed with the Mariners for $2 million more than Balfour got.

I think the bullpen will be the least of the Mets problems this season; scoring runs will be issue number one, in my opinion. Alderson was smart not to spend money on upgrading the Mets bullpen, but he will regret not doing more to upgrade the offense.