{"id":776470,"date":"2026-08-12T05:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T05:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/776470\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T05:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T05:06:16","slug":"nate-lavender-has-proven-himself-in-overhauled-mets-bullpen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/776470\/","title":{"rendered":"Nate Lavender has &#8216;proven himself&#8217; in overhauled Mets bullpen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA \u2014 Nate Lavender\u2019s early returns have left the biggest impression on Mets officials just over a week since the bullpen was overhauled.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The lefty entered Tuesday with three scoreless outings in as many appearances, spanning 3 \u00b9\/\u2083 innings, with only one hit allowed and five strikeouts. <\/p>\n<p>Lavender has joined Jefry Yan to replace A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley, the lefty relievers traded at least week\u2019s deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s pitched in a few tense situations,\u201d interim manager Andy Green said before the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/11\/sports\/mets-nolan-mclean-rebounds-with-dominant-start-in-loss-to-braves\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mets\u2019 4-0 loss to the Braves<\/a> at Truist Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lavender, 26, was drafted by the Mets in 2021. <\/p>\n<p>He returned to the organization this year after the Rays selected him in the Rule 5 draft following the 2024 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people were pretty sullen when he got claimed by the Rays,\u201d Green said. \u201cWe were thrilled when he came back. We have always trusted the human and the competitor, and I think he has proven himself out here on a big stage pretty quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40299802\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MT1USATODAY29556701-337603755-3.jpg\" alt=\"New York Mets pitcher Nate Lavender (94) pitches the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at Truist Park.\" class=\"wp-image-40299802\"  \/>New York Mets pitcher Nate Lavender (94) pitches the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at Truist Park on Aug. 10, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p>The next step in Kodai Senga\u2019s potential evolution into a closer (at least with Devin Williams sidelined) is availability on consecutive days. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/11\/sports\/kodai-senga-gets-first-mlb-save-in-place-of-injured-closer-but-mets-teammate-costs-him-keepsake-ball\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Senga, who recorded his first MLB save Monday<\/a> with a scoreless ninth inning, has never pitched in back-to-back games in his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to ensure he\u2019s in a good spot physically the first time you ask him to do that,\u201d Green said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Williams is on the IL with a shoulder strain that is expected to keep him out into September.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senga, after recording the third out Monday, wanted the ball as a keepsake, but Carson Benge had already flipped it to a fan. The fan came forward Tuesday and before the game exchanged baseballs with Senga, receiving an autographed one in return.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMEts merch shop\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tNew York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel Arias received his first start for the Mets on Tuesday, as the first baseman. Arias gave the Mets an additional right-handed bat in the lineup against lefty Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez. He went 0-for-3 at the plate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2014 Nate Lavender\u2019s early returns have left the biggest impression on Mets officials just over a week&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[52179,5,1716,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,185],"class_list":["post-776470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-mets","tag-andy-green","tag-baseball","tag-kodai-senga","tag-mets","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-mets","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkmets","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117080803487006338","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}