Sep 28, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Anthony Kay (64) reacts after being taken out of the game against the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: Miami Marlins at New York Mets
(Queens, NY) – As the New York Mets look to strengthen their bullpen next season, chances are they will look outside the organization.
In fact, beyond Edwin Diaz, who hopes to return fully healthy at the start of the season – few things are written in ink for the 2024 Mets pen.
The Mets had the second-worst bullpen in all of baseball as measured by FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement measure. Their 4.45 combined ERA was ninth worst.
Enter towering (6’10”) prospect Paul Gervase. He spent the previous season with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. At the end of this most recent season, Gervase assessed his career to date: “A lot of hard work. A lot of people telling you you can’t do it — just ignoring those people.”
Shaking off the doubters, Gervase likely knows it’s a long fall from the top – even as he tries to rise to the MLB ranks – his towering height is his calling card. “I was a bench-warmer on a Division III team.
I was like, ‘If I want to do anything, I’m going to have to flip a switch.’ And that summer I flipped one. [Hitters are] seeing almost 7-feet tall with 7-and-a-half feet of extension coming from behind a right-handed batter, way away from a left-handed batter. I think when you don’t see anything like that, it gives me a significant advantage.”
