Mets' bullpen-heavy approach at the deadline is a championship formula

In contrast, the Philadelphia Phillies parted with two Top 100 prospects for Jhoan Duran, who is under team control through 2027, while the San Diego Padres gave up the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball (Leodalis De Vries) as part of the Mason Miller trade. While Stearns' deals seemed excessive on first glance, jumping the market for elite relief help give the Mets an edge that could be vital in October.

While Alcantara or another pitcher of that ilk would have been nice, there was no pitcher on the market that merited the kind of prospect capital teams were demanding for them. Building a super bullpen has proven to be successful in October, however, as the stretched out schedule means teams can rely more on their big arms to get big outs while still offering key rest days.

The Mets fell victim to a super bullpen in the 2015 World Series as the Kansas City Royals used a parade of flame-throwing relievers to shorten games and win their first title in 30 years. The Tampa Bay Rays also used that formula in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign to reach the Fall Classic while last year's Los Angeles Dodgers, who suffered a litany of rotation injuries down the stretch, used a deep bullpen to patch together games and win another title.

The circle of trust for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has likely expanded beyond the three relievers he used most frequently at the start of July (Edwin Diaz, Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett) to as many as seven (the aforementioned three plus Brooks Raley, and the deadline acquisitions of Rogers, Ryan Helsley and Gregory Soto).

Having that many capable relievers could make it easier for the Mets to look at Clay Holmes as a playoff option for their rotation if he can give them four strong innings. That relief depth would also allow Mendoza to have a quicker hook if his starters tire in a playoff game, something the Mets couldn't afford last year when Mendoza's options were very thin in the NLCS.

There is risk in the strategy of relying on a super bullpen since one weak link can cause a whole game to self-destruct. Given the prices of starters and the track records of the relievers he brought in, Stearns is hoping to duplicate this formula to bring the Mets a title for the first time in almost 40 years.