That said, he was elite as a reliever last year for the Cubs. The owner of a bloody Savant page, that 3.4-mph uptick in average fastball velocity certainly helped. He also increased the usage of his sweeper, which was elite.

Trade Options: Adrian Morejon, Justin Wrobleski

Trading assets for a reliever is somewhat risky given the volatility. However, there’s a scarcity of lefty relievers out there, especially very good ones.

Morejon is a personal favorite, as he leans heavily into the groundball game. As a result, he’s somewhat unorthodox as a high-leverage reliever. Given the nature of his profile, he’s a bit susceptible to BABIP luck, but the Mets’ infield defense is very good.

He also strikes out opponents at an above-average rate and abstains from walks, creating an avenue for sustained success as a contact-first relief pitcher.

Wrobleski flourished as a reliever last year, posting a 2.18 FIP, 29.4% strikeout rate, and a 53.1% groundball rate in 55.2 relief innings. Given the Dodgers’ payroll, they’re not necessarily in a position to offload cheap productivity. Yet, they have an abundance of young pitching, plus they just signed Díaz.

Someone likely falls off the totem pole, so why not aim high if you’re the Mets?

Internal Options: Clay Holmes

Holmes wasn’t bad as a starter in 2025; he’s just a much better reliever.

His strikeout numbers plummeted as a starter, but so did his groundball rate. He was still elite at generating groundballs, but the rate itself dropped 10% from 2024.

In addition to losing strikeouts, his command worsened as well. It’s one thing to lean into more contact as a byproduct of getting deeper into games. It’s another for the very traits that make you elite to become merely ordinary.

Holmes is not only a much better reliever, but he’s another guy with closing experience. A duo of him and Williams at the back end of games would genuinely be one of the most uncomfortable series of at-bats in baseball.

His sinker dropped nearly three mph on average velocity, whiffs saw similar steepness of decline, and the expected data worsened. Holmes is already paid like a high-leverage reliever; just let him be one regardless of other potential external additions to the bullpen.

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