Adam Rubin noted in a piece this morning that Alderson wants better arms in the bullpen going into next season. “We need to have more quality arms in the bullpen,” he said on Monday. “We never had a real strong bottom half of the bullpen,” Alderson said. “The key will be to have more arms, quality arms out there that we can rely on.” My advice to Alderson this off-season? Ignore the voice in your head that says that you need to go out and sign some bullpen arms, and look in-house.
For the first time in a while, if we decided to go through an off-season without spending on the bullpen, I would not be that angry. First off, since Alderson seems to be working on a limited budget again, the money would be better served being put towards legitimate contract offers to guys like Jacoby Ellsbury or Jose Abreu.
Secondly, in terms of our in-house bullpen candidates, it’s been a while since we’ve had such a crop of talented relievers available. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Carlos Torres and Scott Rice were both quality depth signings and Torres could play a role with this team in ’14. That being said, although some of our arms are returning from injury, there’s a lot to be excited about.
Parnell should be back for Spring Training and had a 2.16 ERA in 50.0 innings pitched in 2013. He struck out 44 and earned 22 saves. With a WHIP of just 1.00, he was really turning potential into performance. New addition Vic Black has the potential to be a closer himself, so having him as a set-up man could work. Gonzalez Germen flashed some potential this year with a biting change-up and we saw flashes from one of my personal favorites, Jeurys Familia, as he returned late in the year.
Even past those guys, there are two potential future stars getting ready to break onto the scene really soon — Jack Leathersich and Jeff Walters. Walters, who broke the B-Mets record for single-season saves, is likely going to be added to the 40-man alongside the Leather Rocket. The hard-throwing lefty has a chance to be a mirror image of Billy Wagner when he finally makes his debut in Flushing. I wouldn’t count out Jacob deGrom, either.
The bullpen could be a real strength for us next year — and with Matt Harvey gone, it will need to be.
Leathersich needs to remain in AAA and work on his control. He walked far too many hitters and that just won’t work moving forward. Considering how bad he was in Vegas, I wouldn’t attempt to promote him until he’s able to consistently get AAA hitters out without walking a batter per inning.
German was decent. He flashed potential, but he’s another guy that should season more in Vegas. Right now he wouldn’t be a piece of a playoff caliber team.
Parnell, Black, Familia, Torres, Rice, and possibly Walters make for a potentially great or erratic bullpen. Adding Hawkings helps, but he may have priced himself put with his great year.
They absolutely need another quality veteran that could help anchor that staff. Right now, that bullpen could go either way based on the lack of experience.