8) Adam Ottavino (the third time)
Signed by the Mets as a free agent three different times, Adam Ottavino did something pretty impressive by raising his ERA by about the same each season. The 2.06 ERA performance in 2022 blended well with a Mets roster full of players overachieving or at least performing as best as they could. He’d return in the offseason on a new deal and see his 2023 campaign include a 3.21 ERA. It was deceptive, though. A 4.52 FIP tells us luck was on his side.
The Mets were in no rush to bring Ottavino back. He opted out of his contract for 2024. After no nibbles, the two sides agreed to a new deal for the 2024 season. Ottavino was stronger in some areas and not so in others. An improved walk and strikeout rate gave him a 3.67 FIP. Expected stats, unfortunately, don’t show up in the standings. Ottavino finished the year with a 4.34 ERA and no trust from manager Carlos Mendoza by the end of the year. Apparently, it might have gone both ways. Ottavino isn’t Mendoza’s biggest fan based on bullpen usage in 2025.
Ottavino was so untrustworthy by the end he failed to make it onto the team’s playoff roster. It was a huge turn of events for someone the team once valued so highly as a last line of defense in the bullpen. An inability to give them length, essentially being a one-inning mop-up guy, had them denying him an extended stay in October.