Inside The Mets

New York Mets Relief 'Ace' Has Been Team's Best Surprise

The New York Mets reliever has been incredible and not many people saw it coming.

Dylan Sanders

Apr 24, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Reed Garrett (75) pitches
Apr 24, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Reed Garrett (75) pitches / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Mets have an elite relief pitcher on their hands and no one could have seen it coming.

MLB.com went through the biggest surprises on each team and landed on Reed Garrett's breakout for New York.

Garrett has had an interesting baseball journey so far to start his career, but it has all led to him being one of the best bullpen arms in the league.

A 16th round selection in the 2014 MLB draft, Garrett finally made it to the majors with the the Detroit Tigers but didn't last long. After that, he ended up going overseas for a couple sesons.

In 106 innings pitched in Japan, he had a career-best 3.46 ERA and earned a shot back in America with the Washington Nationals. He had a short stint with Washington and signed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2023.

After two mediocre appearances with Baltimore, he finally landed with the Mets off of waivers.

In his nine games games in New York, he had a 5.82 ERA and looked to be headed either back overseas or the minor leagues once again.

The 31-year-old was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to start the 2024 season. He was called up after one game and, to everyone's surprise, has been completely dominant ever since.

In 19 innings pitched this year, he has a stellar 0.47 ERA, 2.05 FIP and 1.053 WHIP. It has put together consistent elite outings out of the bullpen and looks like a completely different pitcher.

One of the biggest things the Virginia native is having more success with than ever is striking batters out. His previous career high in MLB play was 7.3 per nine in 2023. That number is up to 15.2 this season.

He has drastically decreased his usage of his below average four-seam fastball, instead opting for more splitters and sliders.

Another big change that has come from his success with breaking and off-speed pitches, more batters are watching pitches be called for strikes and whiffing at pitches outside of the zone at a much higher level.

It's a feel-good story that has made for even better baseball in New York for 2024.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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