Mets Still Figuring Out Middle of the Bullpen

Through five innings, it looked like it was all coming up Mets.

Clay Holmes gave them five solid innings, and they manufactured five runs in a two-inning span.

But by the end of the night, the story was the bullpen — the moves Carlos Mendoza made, and didn’t make, and what exactly went wrong in a sudden six-run implosion in the sixth inning.

First, it’s important to note that the Mets own the second-best bullpen ERA in all of baseball. Edwin Díaz is back to his dominant self, Huascar Brazobán and Reed Garrett have been terrific, and José Buttó has been good in a robust body of work. The Mets have mostly found a way to patch things together.

But Friday’s 7-5 loss exposed some glaring questions that the Mets still need to answer.

Max Kranick, for example, had been another success story of the bullpen corps. But he’s slowly faded from reliability. The Pittsburgh castoff, who hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2022, posted a sparkling 2.65 ERA in April before a more pedestrian 4.30 in May. Then he allowed a run in one inning on June 2 and was optioned to Triple-A.

Brought in to clean up Paul Blackburn‘s mess on Friday, Kranick allowed the Rays to tie the game — with two inherited runs charged to Blackburn — and take the lead on a two-run homer by Danny Jansen. He was leaning on his slider, but he left it right over the middle. His ERA is sitting shakily at 5.19 over his last 11 games.

Kranick did end up pitching a scoreless seventh while navigating around a couple of baserunners. He paved way for Justin Garza — the newest addition, who some on social media were arguing should have entered during that disastrous sixth. Ironically, Garza ended up having a good outing. He didn’t strike out anybody, but he also didn’t walk anybody in two scoreless innings. He navigated a leadoff single in each frame.

Fifteen of Garza’s 22 pitches were cutters, averaging 89.3 mph and only topping out at 90.4 mph. There’s no indication that Garza will be any kind of noteworthy piece in the long run, but his recent addition is at least a small step in the right direction in terms of building up some bullpen depth.

The game’s turning point, though, stemmed from Blackburn’s meltdown. While Blackburn is a veteran, he’s inexperienced when it comes to pitching in relief, and it showed on Friday. It was just the sixth relief appearance of Blackburn’s nine-year MLB career, and only his third since 2019. He admitted his lack of comfort with the new role in his postgame comments with reporters.

“It’s been tough. It’s completely different routines,” Blackburn said. “I just haven’t found a routine for the bullpen. It’s a lot of trial and error.”

Blackburn allowed three singles to immediately load the bases in the sixth. The first one, by Brandon Lowe, was the hardest-hit ball of the game for either team at 112.2 mph. He surrendered a 102.4 mph single to former Mets farmhand Jake Mangum, which drove in two runs and knocked Blackburn out of the game. The Rays combined to go 4-for-5 against him with an average exit velocity of 94.9 mph.

Blackburn’s first MLB outing since returning from injury was a scoreless five-inning start. But now, he’s allowed seven runs over 4 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He told the New York Post that his comfort zone is in the rotation, and that although it “sucks” to lose Kodai Senga, he’ll be glad to get back to what he knows best. Blackburn is currently slated to start against the Braves on Wednesday.

But Blackburn going back to the rotation means, like it or not, that he won’t be available for games like Friday’s to begin with. Kranick, as covered, hasn’t been reliable for the last month-plus. Garza is still mostly an unknown. Ryne Stanek has been shaky. Buttó, while good, hasn’t been as spotless as last year.

The Mets’ options are dwindling. It’s looking more and more like the bullpen will be a major focus at the trade deadline, especially if Stanek or Kranick don’t iron things out soon. In Garrett and Díaz, the Mets have an elite backend of the bullpen, and their starters have been the best in baseball. The issue right now is bridging that gap. If Holmes, say, only goes five innings, who can reliably pitch the sixth and seventh innings?

That’s what the Mets need to figure out right now.

 

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