![\"Nate](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2292513940-scaled-e1788577002289.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNEW YORK \u2014 When you trade away half your bullpen in the middle of the summer \u2014 and then lose your closer to injury \u2014 it\u2019s natural to expect your relief corps to perform worse.<\/p>\n
Instead, a New York Mets bullpen without its go-to arms from the first half of the season has actually been better over the last month. New York\u2019s bullpen had been its strength through a disappointing first four months, posting a 3.81 ERA. Without Luke Weaver, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and Huascar Brazob\u00e1n, and with Devin Williams on the injured list much of the time, that pen has posted a 3.51 ERA in an even 100 innings since the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
How did that happen, and how meaningful can it be in a lost season?<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all here because they belong. They\u2019re all here because they want to be here in the future,\u201d interim manager Andy Green said before Friday\u2019s 10-6 win over the San Francisco Giants. \u201cThey all have a lot of work to continue to do, but I don\u2019t think you can look at it any other way but to be encouraged through the first month.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Mets, there have been two clear standouts over the last month: Nate Lavender and Daniel Duarte.<\/p>\n
Since making his major-league debut Aug. 4, Lavender has been the second-best reliever in baseball, according to FanGraphs\u2019 wins above replacement, a touch behind Houston\u2019s Josh Hader. In 12 2\/3 innings over a dozen appearances, the lefty has yet to allow a run. Only eight men have reached base. He\u2019s allowed one extra-base hit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Nate Lavender hasn\u2019t allowed a run in his 12 2\/3 innings of major-league pitching. (Caean Couto \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing I\u2019ve learned is to trust my strengths, to rely on the strengths that got me here,\u201d Lavender said. \u201cThe job description is always the same: How can I get this guy out of the batter\u2019s box?\u201d<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old Duarte appeared in 36 big-league games before this season, most of them with the 2023 Cincinnati Reds. After bouncing between Triple A and the majors through the first half of the season, he\u2019s been with the Mets since July 21.<\/p>\n
Duarte has allowed a run in just four of his 21 outings this season, and a recent rough stretch barely pushed his ERA over 2.00 on the year. His cutter\/sweeper mix has kept the ball off opposing hitters\u2019 barrels all season. He\u2019s been almost untouchable to fellow right-handers, who are 4-for-37 off him this season.<\/p>\n
Late-season evaluations are notoriously tricky. That\u2019s true for starting pitchers and position players, let alone the most volatile position in the sport. Combined, Lavender and Duarte have thrown 38 2\/3 innings this season for the Mets. That\u2019s the same number Frankie Montas threw for the Mets last season, and you don\u2019t remember that happening.<\/p>\n
To Green, a reliever audition boils down to two key questions:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Does the stuff play at this level?<\/p>\n
\u2022 How does the pitcher handle the stress?<\/p>\n
The stuff sure looks as if it plays for Lavender, Duarte and others in that bullpen. And given the absence of just about anyone with high-leverage experience, they\u2019ve handled plenty of potentially stressful late-game situations with aplomb.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the two months give you a window into who they are,\u201d Green said. \u201cThe thing about this game at the major-league level is you\u2019ve got to show up again in spring training, you\u2019ve got to show up again and do it in the season. You\u2019ve got to keep showing up. The best relievers in the game show up year after year after year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not where you had a great August in 2026, and therefore you deserve to pitch here for the next three years. It\u2019s not like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless of how their bullpen performed down the stretch, the Mets were going to enter this winter in need of relievers. But the magnitude of that need looks different today than it did a month ago. Lavender and Duarte are not the only pitchers who have placed themselves on the radar for 2027. In Williams\u2019 place, Kodai Senga looks salvageable as a reliever entering the final year of his contract. Dedniel N\u00fa\u00f1ez has recovered from a rocky first few outings. Austin Warren hasn\u2019t been optioned since April.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know my stuff plays in the big leagues,\u201d Warren said, \u201cso it\u2019s nice the organization notices that and gives me the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams will return as the team\u2019s closer, and Senga can now figure into the mix in some capacity. Reed Garrett and Tylor Megill are coming off Tommy John surgery. There will be choices, though not in every case options. Duarte and Warren will be out of minor-league options next season. (The Mets have been able to preserve N\u00fa\u00f1ez\u2019s option, since he went straight from the IL to a rehab assignment to the majors.)<\/p>\n
Warren pointed out that he\u2019s thrown more innings in relief than any other active member of New York\u2019s pen (\u201cThat\u2019s a first,\u201d he joked). But that bricolage of a bullpen has been one of the game\u2019s best \u2014 and it\u2019s becoming one of its tightest, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love it,\u201d Warren said. \u201cAll these guys deserve to be in the big leagues. Their stuff plays in the big leagues. I\u2019m glad these guys got their chance, and we\u2019re having fun, passing the baton every time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccess is contagious,\u201d Lavender said. \u201cOur bullpen has done a good job of picking each other up. And when you see someone go in and do the job well, you want to do the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 When you trade away half your bullpen in the middle of the summer \u2014 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,475,82],"class_list":["post-884298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}