Ex-Yankees Flamethrower Available; Mets Could Pursue To Improve Bullpen

Could the former Yankees fireballer make sense for the Mets in free agency?

The New York Mets still have holes up and down the roster they need to fill this offseason.

New York entered the 2023 season with extremely high expectations after winning 101 games in 2022. Although the Mets widely were considered among the World Series contenders in baseball, New York's season sputtered out of control and won just 75 games.

The Mets have brought in former Milwaukee Brewers executive David Stearns to lead the organization as the club's president of baseball operations and his job is to get the club back to the postseason. 

New York already has brought in former All-Stars Joey Wendle and Luis Severino but still has a lot of work to do. The Mets are targeting top starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and if they miss out on him likely will turn their focus to fellow stars Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell. 

Another less flashy spot the club needs to work on is the bullpen. New York will have star closer Edwin Díaz back in the fold after missing the 2023 season but the club still needs to add at least one or two more impact relievers.

One player who could make sense to bring in is former Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees fireballer Keynan Middleton. 

The 30-year-old fireballer has been very steady throughout his seven-year big league career and has a career 3.84 ERA in 205 outings Middleton spent the 2023 season with the White Sox and Yankees and logged a 3.38 overall ERA in 51 appearances. He was most impressive down the stretch with the Yankees after being traded ahead of the trade deadline with a 1.88 ERA in 12 outings. 

The righty may not be the biggest name on the market but would be a very solid pickup for the Mets. If New York was interested in a signing, he would be an intriguing setup man for Díaz. The reliever market has been extremely slow so far, but keep a look out for Middleton.