All over the field and the lineup, the Mets have taken steps back from a 101-win 2022 to a disastrous 2023 that culminated with a trade-deadline sell-off.
Key bats have regressed. Starting pitchers have encountered issues, everything from effectiveness to durability, which has put a further strain on a bullpen whose depth repeatedly has been exposed.
Mets relievers posted a 3.55 ERA last year, which was 10th-best in baseball and helped lock down a playoff spot.
A year later, the bullpen entered play Tuesday with a mark (4.50) that was the eighth-worst in MLB.
There has been no Edwin Diaz, but there also have been little reinforcements behind the electric closer.
If last year’s trade deadline went differently, Colin Holderman sure would have been helpful.
“I haven’t been [paying] too much [attention to the Mets]. I know things aren’t going the way they would like,” said the now Pirates reliever, who is enjoying a successful first full season in the majors and has tried to keep his eyes straight. “That’s why I got rid of Twitter.”
Holderman was back at Citi Field to open a series against his former club Monday for the first time since he was shipped to Pittsburgh on July 22, 2022.
The Mets needed a designated hitter, a spot in which first Robinson Cano and then Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis disappointed, and the cost for Daniel Vogelbach was a strong, optionable young reliever in Holderman.
Holderman was called into manager Buck Showalter’s office presuming he was about to be sent to Triple-A Syracuse because the injured Trevor May was nearing a return.
Instead, Showalter, general manager Billy Eppler and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner were waiting and stunned him with the trade news. He was going to Pittsburgh.
“It’s a good fit for me,” said Holderman, a 2016, ninth-round pick of the Mets who overcame injuries during his development and became a useful pitcher in Queens for parts of three months last year. “It’s awesome getting thrown into the role, and the opportunity has been great. Definitely a good place for me to end up. I’m pretty happy.”
As are the Pirates, who acquired a now 27-year-old who cannot even hit arbitration until after the 2025 season and who posted a 3.29 ERA in his first 41 innings this season, an able setup man for closer David Bednar.
The Mets, who lost Diaz in the World Baseball Classic, would have loved that output from any of their stack of unproven arms they brought to spring training. Behind David Robertson (who has since been traded), Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley, they hoped upside would pay off on relievers such as Stephen Nogosek, Sam Coonrod, John Curtiss, Elieser Hernandez, Jimmy Yacabonis and Jeff Brigham.
Virtually none has worked out so far, though Grant Hartwig has been solid since debuting in mid-June.
The righty Holderman, meanwhile, has added a cutter to his arsenal to combat lefties and seen a velocity uptick after spending some of his offseason at Driveline, essentially a pitching factory.
He pitched well with the Mets last season, posting a 2.04 ERA in 17 ²/₃ innings as a frequent rider to and from Syracuse, and has thrived solely in the majors this year.
“I’ve had some development while I’ve been over here, too, so I can’t complain at all,” Holderman said.
Mets fans have complained plenty about Vogelbach, who hit well in the final few months of last season but largely has struggled this year.
The lefty, brought in to crush righties, enters Tuesday with a .704 OPS and nine home runs in 83 games after slugging a homer in Monday’s 7-2 win – serviceable but not solid numbers. His presence complicates the roster as a niche bat who has not played the field.
The 30-year-old will enter his final year of arbitration this offseason, when the Mets will have to decide whether to bring him back or nontender him.
The Pirates will have fewer doubts about Holderman.
“It was about six years of my life, and it’s all I knew for a long time,” Holderman said of the Mets. “I’m really grateful for everything they’ve done for me. It was an awesome experience I had, and it’s definitely a little different coming back on the visiting side.”
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