The New York Mets and a questionable bullpen are a historic pairing, second to maybe a thunderstorm and a Florida summer evening.

The Mets entered the season with a few question marks in their relief core, but there was some overall hope that the group would provide enough to help carry the team back to the playoffs. As the All-Star break comes to an end, the Mets currently rank No. 14 across the league in bullpen ERA at 3.83, which is pretty good considering the fact that seven different Met relievers currently sit on the injured list, including both Opening Day lefties in A.J. Minter and Danny Young.

35 different arms have pitched for the Mets this year, including 29 in relief. Let’s take a look at how the Mets bullpen grades out for their first half.

Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Edwin Díaz: A+

The lone All-Star out of the Mets’ bullpen, Díaz turned in a great first half this year. He had his share of blips and miscues towards the beginning of the season, but he was dominant following his chiropractic correction, where one of his legs was longer than the other.

Overall, Díaz pitched to a 1.66 ERA, striking out 55 batters in 38 innings and locking down 19 of his 20 save chances. The Mets’ closer has surrendered just seven earned runs all year, with only two crossing the plate over his last 31 appearances. Díaz has been an anchor for the Mets’ bullpen, serving as a constant for an otherwise tumultuous group. Overall, Diaz has been an A+ closer in 2025.

Reed Garrett: A-

Garrett is following up his breakout 2024 season by cementing himself as the Mets’ eighth-inning man. He began the year on fire, posting a 0.93 ERA over his first 29 games. From mid-June until his first outing in July, however, Garrett battled through a cold streak, allowing nine earned runs in 4 1/3 innings over six games. He followed up his rough stretch with four scoreless outings, including an incredible six-out save against the New York Yankees on July 4.

All in all, Garrett owned a 2.87 ERA with 16 holds and three saves in the first half. The Mets’ bullpen would be in the wilderness without him. Garrett continued his ascent to being a top reliever and earned himself an A-.

José Buttó: B+

Buttó currently has a 2.47 ERA, lowering his career mark as a reliever to 2.55. He served as a multi-inning reliever for the Mets before landing on the injured list with an illness in early July. As the Mets navigated their onslaught of pitching injuries before the break, they could truly feel the loss of Buttó’s arm in their bullpen. He was stellar in June, not allowing a single run over 13 1/3 innings pitched while opponents posted a .418 OPS against him.

The only knock on Buttó’s first half is his absence in July. He appears to be set to return shortly after the break, as he is currently rehabbing with the FCL Mets in Port St. Lucie. Adding Buttó back to the Mets’ bullpen gives them a much-needed lift, and he will immediately become one of the most trusted arms in the ‘pen. Overall, Butto gets a B+.

Huascar Brazobán (43) – Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Huascar Brazobán: B-

Brazobán is only 11 innings away from his career high in innings pitched, showing just how much the Mets have depended on him. The former Miami Marlin struggled mightily last year with the Mets after joining them at the deadline and came into spring training on the roster bubble for 2025. Since then, however, he has earned his keep as an important piece for the club. Brazobán started as one of the front-end arms but quickly became an important piece as he dominated early on while other relievers fell to injury.

Brazobán has opened three games for the Mets, saved two and held down the fort in countless others. The innings total is beginning to show in his recent performances, though, as he’s allowed 14 earned runs in his last nine games. Prior to that, he held a 1.62 ERA in his first 30 games. The mid-summer break, a healthier Mets bullpen and impending deadline acquisitions should help Brazobán return to a more normal workload and regain his form. He earned himself a nice B-grade in the first half.

Ryne Stanek: C+

It was an up-and-down first half for Stanek that is perfectly summed up with his outing against the Yankees on July 5: One inning, one run, almost 40 pitches, held the lead and let out a Stanek roar as he left the mound. Much like Brazobán, Stanek became vitally important to the Mets as the likes of Buttó, Minter and other back-end arms hit the IL.

For roughly over a month now, Stanek has served as one of the setup men for Díaz along with Garrett. Stanek has had much less success than Garrett, however, as he owns a 4.55 ERA and has one save to his ledger. Similar to Brazobán, Stanek’s early success faded as his usage grew and grew: His first 19 outings yielded a 3.24 ERA, and his following 18 produced a 6.00 ERA.

Overall, Stanek has been better than he was in the regular season for the Mets in 2024, but has fallen short of the marks he set in the playoffs. Ultimately, the Mets should hope for better from Stanek down the stretch. His inconsistent performance earned him a C+.

The Rest: D+

As the injuries piled up for the Mets, several different names and faces appeared in games. In total, 35 different pitchers have completed outings for the Mets, the majority of whom have been relievers. None of the Mets’ depth arms have seemed to make an impact outside of Chris Devenski, who has posted a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings with the club.

The likes of Brandon Waddell, Richard Lovelady, Austin Warren, Justin Hagenman and several others have had varying levels of results, but overall just haven’t done enough to warrant remaining with the team. Even Devenski, at this current moment, feels like a fairly long shot to stick around beyond the trading deadline. The club stumbled mightily in the back half of June and the early days of July, and their makeshift bullpen can be mostly to blame for it.

The replacement arms were called on in large part due to injury. Of the Mets’ Opening Day eight-man bullpen, two are now down for the year (Minter and Young), one has Tommy John on the table as an option (Max Kranick), and one hasn’t thrown a pitch for the team since June (Buttó). In total, seven Mets relievers (eight if you count Paul Blackburn) currently sit on the IL, including others who haven’t thrown all year in Drew Smith and Brooks Raley, although the latter’s return to the majors is imminent following a lengthy rehab assignment.

Overall, the injured arms and replace-Mets relievers earn a D+. The team might have a commanding lead in the NL East if not for their pitching injuries.