Adam Ottavino understands the Mets’ bullpen would be weaker if their best reliever this season is traded before Tuesday’s deadline, but experience has taught him there could be a silver lining.
That is, if David Robertson departs an opportunity will arise for others.
“You just would have to deal with it,” Ottavino said before Tuesday’s Subway Series game in The Bronx. “We didn’t expect not to have Edwin [Diaz] and we don’t have Edwin now, that is just the reality of the situation and you have to adjust.
“Somebody is going to have to pitch in those spots and it’s a really great learning opportunity, especially if your team ends up not in it and you’re in those spots it ends up being a real great opportunity to succeed or fail without any repercussions and kind of learn from it.”
Robertson began the day with a 2.08 ERA and 14 saves in 28 appearances as the Mets’ most valuable reliever.
But the fact he’s on a one-year contract and the Mets entered play seven games below .500 has left him as a possible trade chip as the organization looks to replenish the farm system.
With Diaz sidelined by knee surgery that is expected to keep him out for the season, the Mets — if they traded Robertson — would perhaps entrust the closing duties to a veteran such as Ottavino or Brooks Raley or could potentially give a younger pitcher such as Grant Hartwig a look.
But a bullpen already lacking depth would be thinner, potentially turning the final two months into a non-competitive mess for the Mets.
“Great relievers don’t grow on trees and [Robertson] is having a great season, and he’s handled a lot of the big heavy lifting for us,” Ottavino said. “He’s taking on the middle of the order sometimes outside of the ninth inning and also pitching the ninth inning in a lot of close games and extra innings and multi-innings and a lot of stuff. It will just be an opportunity for somebody else if it were to come to pass and he left.”
Ottavino has pitched to a 2.49 ERA over his last 23 games after a slow start to this season and could also be a trade possibility.
But the right-hander’s one-year contract for $7.25 million holds a player option for next season for the same amount that could serve as a deterrent to a team trading for him.
“[The player option] may or may not matter for the trade deadline, but in general I wanted to get a second year on the deal because I want to be here and play as long as I can,” Ottavino, a 37-year-old Brooklyn native said. “This is a great situation for me. I love the Mets organization and I didn’t want to go year-to-year. I wanted to try to stick around longer so that was the whole reasoning for that.”
As somebody experiencing his 11th trade deadline Ottavino understands the value of ignoring most of the rumors.
“I think there’s some younger players that probably look for their name and read every single thing and everything,” Ottavino said. “They haven’t been through it before so they don’t know how to compartmentalize. I have been on other teams where there’s been guys sweating it out all the way until the deadline either hoping not to be traded or to be traded so it can either way.”
