How Chasen Shreve Is Building His Case To Earn Lefty Spot In Mets' Bullpen

JUPITER -- He's not going to be Aaron Loup, who was the Mets' best relief pitcher from a season ago, producing a historic 0.95 ERA in 65 appearances, which saw him land a two-year, $17 million with the Los Angeles Angels in free agency as a result. But Chasen Shreve could be an under the radar candidate to replace Loup as a dependable left-handed option in the Mets' bullpen this year.

In his latest outing, Shreve worked a 1-2-3 inning, with a pair of strikeouts in a 10-0 victory over the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday night. Shreve has now set-down all nine batters he has faced this spring, while striking out four of them.

Shreve is currently competing with fellow lefty Alex Claudio for a spot in a Mets' pen that is flooded with right-handers. Claudio has also tossed three scoreless innings during Grapefruit League play, making this battle pretty close between the pair. 

“You look at track record,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Nothing says we have to carry a lefty pitcher, but we’ll see. Neither one of them has taken a back seat or taken a step back from what we thought they might bring. We’ll see what the rest of the spring holds.”

After putting together a solid 3.20-ERA campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021, the Mets got Shreve for a bargain, signing him to a minor league deal at the start of spring training. 

Mets' brass was already familiar with Shreve, who pitched in Queens during the Covid-shortened 2020 season. And in his previous stint with the team, the southpaw proved to be versatile, given his ability to provide length out of the bullpen. This could be an additional factor in the Mets' decision to keep Shreve on the active roster. The ultimate goal is to keep the pitching staff fresh, and with a shortened spring training brought on by the lockout, the Mets will likely need as many innings as they can get in the early-portion of the season. 

Although it has not yet been officially announced by MLB, the expectation is that rosters will be expanded to 28-players in the month of April. If this winds up being the case, the Mets could carry both Shreve and Claudio on their Opening Day roster. But they will need to clear multiple 40-man roster spots in order to do so, which could be tricky since they no longer have any remaining 60-day I.L. candidates. Travis Jankowski could also make the team as a fourth outfielder and would need a spot cleared on the 40-man as well. 

Regardless, Shreve's strong performance and previous track record have seemingly given him a leg-up in the competition to fill the left-handed vacancy in the Mets' bullpen. 

Apple TV+

As part of a new "Friday Night Baseball" initiative, Max Scherzer's Mets' debut on April 8 will air exclusively on Apple TV+. In addition to this game, the Mets' contest with the Los Angeles Angels on June 10 will also be aired on Apple TV+ as well.

Although these games will not be available on SNY, fans can download the Apple TV+ app and watch without a subscription. 

Waiver Claim

The Mets claimed right-handed pitcher Yoan Lopez off waivers from the Marlins on Tuesday.

New York moved left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day I.L. in order to clear room for Lopez on the 40-man roster. Lopez was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse upon joining the Mets. The 29-year-old made 13 appearances with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021 and holds a career ERA of 4.25 across four seasons.