10 Options For Mets to Fortify Bullpen This Season

The New York Mets have a few holes in their bullpen that they must fill this season if they hope to contend in the NL.

Jun 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Michael Kopech (45) delivers to the plate in the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

One could argue that president of baseball operations David Stearns didn't do enough to bolster the New York Mets' bullpen in the offseason.

Stearns signed new closer Devin Williams (three-years, $45 million), setup man Luke Weaver (two-years, $22 million), Luis Garcia (one-year, $1.75 million) and acquired Tobias Myers in the Freddy Peralta trade. However, the Mets lost elite closer Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So far, Williams has been good, Weaver has been mostly good, Myers has a 1.13 ERA and Garcia has been a disaster. Not only is Garcia's velocity down on all of his pitches, he has an abysmal 8.44 ERA in 5.1 innings this season.

The Mets also gave the final bullpen spot to Dick Lovelady, who was designated for assignment on four separate occasions last season. Lovelady holds a 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings this year.

Realistically, if the Mets hope to be contenders this season, they will need additional contributions in their bullpen.

So, here are 10 options that can help the Mets fortify this unit during the season.

A.J. Minter

Feb 18, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; tNew York Mets pitcher A.J. Minter (33) hrows a pitch during spring training workouts at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

This is the obvious one, left-hander A.J. Minter (coming back from lat surgery). The southpaw just began a rehab assignment with Low-A St. Lucie on Thursday, where he tossed a scoreless inning on nine pitches.

Minter should be back with the Mets by late-April/early-May, meaning he will fill one of said holes in the team's bullpen.

Craig Kimbrel

Mar 3, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) delivers a pitch against Nicaragua during the fourth inning at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Future Hall of Fame closer Craig Kimbrel, who signed a minor league deal with the Mets in January, had a rough spring training where he struggled with command and velocity. But instead of exercising the opt-out clause in his deal after not making the team, Kimbrel chose to remain with the Mets and go to Triple-A Syracuse.

Kimbrel has thrown one scoreless inning for Syracuse thus far and should factor into the Mets' bullpen at some point this year.

Michael Kopech

Jun 11, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Michael Kopech (45) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

Externally, there is at least one option left on the free agent market and that's hard-throwing right-hander Michael Kopech. The veteran was limited to just 14 appearances last season with the Dodgers due to a right shoulder impingement and knee inflammation, resulting in multiple stints on the IL.

However, Kopech posted a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings last year. He also had a 1.13 ERA with the Dodgers in 24 innings in 2024 after being acquired at the MLB trade deadline that season.

Additional Arms That Can Make an Impact

In addition to the three veterans mentioned, the Mets have a number of arms in the upper levels of the minor leagues that could potentially make an impact in the big-league bullpen this season.

Those names include: Dylan Ross (nearing return from IL, arm fatigue), Ryan Lambert, Jonathan Pintaro, Dan Hammer, Nate Lavender (on rehab assignment), Carl Edwards Jr. and Anderson Severino.

Bullpen candidate Dylan Ross throwing a bullpen session this morning. Ross figures to factor into the mix this year for the Mets after posting a 2.17 ERA across 3 minor league levels last season. pic.twitter.com/oHOtJwnlhR

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) February 18, 2026

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.