The New York Mets’ bullpen needs some balance.
Though it’s been the second-best bullpen in Major League Baseball by most run-prevention statistics this season, the Mets are too right-handed. Losing A.J. Minter for the season really hurt, and New York shouldn’t necessarily count on Brooks Raley in his eventual return from Tommy John surgery.
With few other places to turn, the Mets are left looking for a southpaw at the July trade deadline.
One baseball analyst believes they could acquire perhaps the most infamous lefty fireballer in the history of bullpens.
In a recent YouTube video, content creator Jim Riley named Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, a seven-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, as the top prospective trade target for the Mets this summer.
“Where do they (the Mets) need the most help? It’s in the bullpen,” Riley said. “And specifically, with all the injuries they’ve had, I believe it is a lefty in that bullpen.
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“Why not? Aroldis Chapman back to New York, and this time it’s not the Bronx, it’s Queens, and just dominates. You have Chapman and (Edwin) Díaz at the back of that bullpen. The game is over after seven.”
Chapman, 37, is a modern marvel. He’s somehow still regularly topping 100 miles per hour with two kinds of fastballs despite throwing nearly 800 major league innings. This year, he’s got a 1.65 ERA in 30 appearances, striking out 37 batters in 27 1/3 innings.
The Red Sox would need to continue languishing below .500 to make this deal a possibility, but the Mets would definitely be one of the most obvious destinations for Chapman, who is on a one-year, $10.75 million contract.
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