Fantasy Baseball: What To Make Of The Mets Revamped Bullpen
By Mike Marteny
What To Make Of The Mets Revamped Bullpen.
The New York Mets made a bizarre move on Friday. It all made sense by Monday. What it did is left us fantasy owners with a dilemma. Someone who is closing will not anymore, and someone who was not closing is now a sought after piece. Let’s sort this out! This is the deal that had people scratching their heads.
Many wondered why the Mets would add Ramos when they had the same record as the Marlins. It turns out that there was method to their madness.
Ramos was 2-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 40 appearances for the Marlins. He saved 20 out of 22 games. Ramos will likely serve as the closer until Jeurys Familia does. Familia is still without a timetable for return.
It seems clear that the Mets view Ramos as the closer long term. He picked up 92 saves in 2+ years closing for the Marlins. Ramos is worth owning in all leagues if you need help in saves. He isn’t available in a large number of leagues, but he is out there in a lot of shallow leagues. There is no guarantee that Familia will pitch well enough to take the job back once he returns.
Gonzalez is 12-3 with a 1.78 ERA in 17 starts at two levels of A ball this year. He wont have a fantasy impact for at least two more years.
Cespedes has flown through A ball this year, posting a .243 average wtih a homer, a steal, and 15 RBI in 30 games. Like Gonzalez, Cespedes is a raw talent. He is still just 19 years old and is highly regarded by scouts. Cespedes was the 19th ranked Mets prospect. He is 24th for the Marlins. Also like Gonzalez, he is still a few years away from fantasy rosters.
That deal made more sense on Monday when this trade came down the wire.
The clear loser in this deal is Addison Reed and his owners. Reed saved 19 of 21 games after taking over for Familia earlier in the year. He is 1-2 with a 2.57 ERA. Reed can safely be dropped in leagues that don’t count holds. Even in league that count holds, Reed wont be that highly sought after because of the 1.12 WHIP and less than a strikeout per inning.
Gerson Bautista projects as a closer, but his 3-2 record with a 5.16 ERA in 27 Carolina League appearances doesn’t look promising. He is 22 years old, so there is a good chance that he wont develop enough to ever reach the majors.
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Stephen Nogosek took over the closer role from Bautista upon his promotion to the Carolina League. He is 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA and six saves in seven tries so far. Nogosek is also 22 years old, so there is a chance that he will also have trouble having a fantasy impact at some point in his career.
The big piece of this deal for the Mets is Jamie Callahan. He dominated the Eastern League before being promoted to AAA Pawtucket. Callahan posted a 4.03 ERA in 22 appearances there with six saves in six tries. He also racked up 56 strikeouts in 42 innings over those two stops.
There is a chance that Callahan makes it to the majors this year, but the chances of him taking over the ninth inning role are not good. He will likely see time in the seventh in eighth, which means he wont have much for fantasy value.
The big pickup from these deals will be Kyle Barraclough in the long term, but he is currently on the disabled list. The favorite for saves for the Marlins until then is veteran Brad Ziegler. Ziegler has struggled this year, but he does have 85 career saves. He is worth a look in the short term if you need saves.