Should the Mets plan for a bullpen game on their next homestand?

The New York Mets have planned to insert a sixth starter into their rotation during this stretch of 13 games without a day off, but a bullpen game may prove to be a better strategy.

Apr 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Max Kranick (32) follows through on a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the eighth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Mets have gotten off to a strong 11-5 start this season due to excellent work from their pitching staff.

The bullpen, which has been a weakness for years, has morphed into a strength this season. As of Tuesday, Mets relievers have posted a combined ERA of 1.82, good for the third best mark in the major leagues.

All eight members of the bullpen have been strong factors; this includes the last men to make the roster, Huascar Brazoban and Max Kranick. The pair have given the Mets good length as multi-inning relievers, helping bridge the gaps when the starters haven't gone as deep into games as the team would like.

Can we have a chat about Huascar Brazoban? He’s been fantastic and looks like the reliever the Mets thought they were getting at last year’s deadline

The only run charged to him in 11.1 relief innings this year was an incredibly wind aided home runpic.twitter.com/6NSByxYkWX

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) April 15, 2025

But that strength could be tested in the coming days. New York's 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday continued a stretch of 13 consecutive games without a day off, which should lead the team to insert a sixth starter into the mix on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. That start would ordinarily belong to Kodai Senga in a five-man rotation, but the Mets have been clear that they plan to give him extra rest whenever possible.

Jose Urena, who pitched today for Syracuse, is among the possibilities the Mets have discussed as the sixth starter for the Cardinals series. Urena would be on full rest if the Mets place him into Friday's start, giving Kodai Senga an extra day of rest.

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) April 13, 2025

Pitching Senga on Friday would require him to make consecutive starts on four days of rest, which is something the Mets probably don't want to try at this juncture of the season. Adding Urena, who is on turn and can easily be added to the 40-man roster by shifting Sean Manaea to the 60-day injured list, is a good theoretical idea but would come at the cost of demoting someone from the current bullpen.

Read More: New York Mets provide injury updates on Sean Manaea, Jose Siri

The vulnerable relievers would appear to be the aforementioned Brazoban and Kranick, who both have minor league options remaining. Sending either reliever down would require them to stay in Triple-A Syracuse for 15 days barring an injury to another player, which seems like a significant cost to pay for one or two starts of Urena.

One option that could make sense if the Mets don't need to go to Kranick in the remainder of the Minnesota series is doing a bullpen game against St. Louis on Friday. Kranick, Brazoban (who pitched on Monday), and Jose Butto could patch together most of the game for the Mets, allowing them to keep the unit intact and still have an extra day of rest for Senga as well.

There is another 13-game stretch coming up after an off day on April 24th, which would again require a sixth starter. However, waiting until then to add another starter could give Paul Blackburn enough time to return from his own injury. Blackburn was ticketed for the big league bullpen before he got hurt late in camp and would fill more of a swingman role, which the current group lacks.

Bullpen games carry the risk of leaving several multi-inning relievers unavailable for a day or two, but it could make more sense in the long run if the Mets can stay away from those arms over the next few days. The Mets finally have the depth of relievers necessary to run a successful bullpen day, so they should absolutely consider it if the next few days break favorably for their relief usage.