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It won\u2019t be long before the sweet sound of spring fills the air in Florida and Arizona\u2014fungo bats cracking, catchers\u2019 gloves popping, and the oddly satisfying click-clack of metal cleats on dugout concrete. Spring training is the calm before the storm: a chance for most players to shake off the winter rust, get to know new teammates and tweak their mechanics before the grind of 162 games begins. But for some\u2014looking at you, a few New York Mets relievers\u2014this spring is less \u201cwarm-up\u201d and more \u201caudition.\u201d Three players seem poised to compete for a bullpen role, a job currently held by Danny Young. It’s time to bring the heat, fellas.<\/p>\n
While the spotlight will be on the marquee names this spring in Port St. Lucie, a quieter but meaningful battle will unfold in the Mets’ bullpen.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m tossing Anthony\u2019s name into the bullpen conversation purely because of his upside and undeniable arm talent. A lefty who can pump high 90s with an 86-mph slider isn\u2019t exactly something you stumble upon in the bargain bin. So, how did the Mets scoop him up on a minor-league deal? Well, here\u2019s the plot twist: (deep breath)<\/em> he started as an outfielder, switched to pitching, had Tommy John surgery in 2022, and oh yeah, he\u2019s turning 35 this year.<\/p>\n His MLB story began in 2012 with the Blue Jays, where he hit .234 with a .301 OBP and .332 slugging over 616 plate appearances. After three seasons, he was traded to the Tigers, where he posted a similar line\u2014.247\/.315\/.363 in 636 plate appearances over two years. His struggles at the plate eventually led him to reinvent himself, swapping the batter\u2019s box for the pitcher\u2019s mound.<\/p>\n He spent about four seasons in the minors from 2017 to 2021, making stops with the affiliates of Detroit, Texas, and Cleveland before finally earning his way back to the big leagues in September 2021 with Cleveland. His workload since then has been minimal\u2014just 32 innings over three seasons, interrupted by the Tommy John surgery mentioned earlier. It\u2019s been anything but a straightforward path, but here we are.<\/p>\n Despite his unconventional journey, he has all the tools to secure a spot in the Mets bullpen. His 28% strikeout rate, proves he can overpower hitters, while a 70.2% left-on-base percentage shows he\u2019s no stranger to working out of tight spots (both during his time in Cleveland). But the real gem? That slider\u2014a devastating pitch with a 66.7% whiff rate in 2022. Pair that with a high-90s fastball from the left side, and you\u2019ve got a pitcher who can be reliable if he can clean up his control. Sure, he\u2019ll be 35 and coming off Tommy John surgery, but the upside here is undeniable. With the proper instruction from the Mets organization, don\u2019t be shocked if Gose forces his way onto the roster and becomes a piece of the bullpen this season.<\/p>\n In yet another low-risk, high-reward move courtesy of David Stearns, enter Genesis Cabrera\u2014a lefty who\u2019s spent the last six seasons with the Cardinals and Blue Jays. The 28-year-old signed a minor league deal with a spring training invite back in November after clearing waivers and hitting free agency. Unlike Anthony Gose, where you\u2019re rolling the dice on raw arm talent and hoping for the best, Cabrera is more of a known quantity. He\u2019s got the track record and the tools to be a useful arm coming out of the pen, and honestly, he might just be one of those sneaky-good pickups that pay off for the Amazins.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s hope the Mets upgraded their PitchCom devices because Cabrera\u2019s bringing a full arsenal to the mound: sinker, cutter, four-seamer, curve, and changeup. Over six seasons, he\u2019s put together a respectable 3.89 ERA, a 22.2% strikeout rate, a 1.349 WHIP, and a 73.4% left-on-base percentage in 272 appearances. His sinker can hit 96 mph, with a changeup and curve coming in at 88 and 78 mph, respectively. That changeup, by the way, saw limited action in 2024 (just 8% of his pitches), but when he threw it, hitters had no chance\u2014posting an impressive 48.1% whiff rate and 0 balls that qualified as hard hit (exit velocity of 95+).<\/p>\n The downsides? Well, there\u2019s a reason Cabrera is on his third team heading into his seventh season. Struggles with his command have become a recurring issue, evident with his 11.4% walk rate, higher than you\u2019d like to see. Add in a 37.8% hard-hit percentage that\u2019s a tick above average, and you start to see why he\u2019s bouncing around. When things go south for him, they tend to spiral.<\/p>\n Though Cabrera\u2019s stats won\u2019t have Timmy blowing his trumpet, there\u2019s real potential if he\u2019s used the right way. With his pitch mix and a few tweaks from Jeremy Hefner, he could become a reliable contributor for the Mets. It\u2019s a low-risk gamble, but one that might just pay off if Cabrera finds his groove.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old Hobbs was snagged from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft this past December, giving the Mets a low-risk chance to uncover some hidden potential. A 10th-round pick out of St. Mary\u2019s College, the right-hander will start spring training on the active roster, where he\u2019ll have a real shot to make an impression. With a low-to-mid-90s four-seamer and a sharp slider in his three-pitch toolkit, he\u2019s got the ingredients to compete for a bullpen spot.<\/p>\n He put up some eye-catching numbers over four seasons in the Dodgers system: a 3.18 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, a 9.62 K\/9 rate, and a stingy 0.76 HR\/9, which is well below league average. Opponents managed just a .202 batting average and a .633 OPS against him\u2014solid marks for any reliever. But, like a few others in the Mets\u2019 bullpen mix, his Achilles’ heel is his command. With a 5.16 BB\/9, losing the strike zone has been a recurring issue, and it\u2019s something he\u2019ll need to clean up if he wants to stick around in the big leagues.<\/p>\n His 57.2 innings pitched with AA Tulsa last season\u2014a solid workload for a reliever\u2014could be his ticket to carving out a role in the Mets\u2019 bullpen. What sets him apart is his knack for shutting down left-handed hitters and coming through in high-pressure spots. Lefties floundered against him, hitting a meager .173 with a 22.9% strikeout rate over 75 at-bats. When the stakes were high\u2014runners on second and third\u2014Hobbs stepped up, holding hitters to a .187 average and posting a 26.5% K rate in those situations. Add in a 52.7% groundball rate, and you\u2019ve got a pitcher who could be the Mets version of \u201cWonderboy\u201d this season. If he can harness his control, don\u2019t be surprised if this Rule 5 pick becomes a crucial piece for the Amazins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It won\u2019t be long before the sweet sound of spring fills the air in Florida and Arizona\u2014fungo bats cracking, catchers\u2019 gloves popping, and the oddly satisfying c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":27251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n2) Genesis Cabrera<\/h2>\n
3) Michael Hobbs<\/h2>\n