Mets exercise club option on lefty reliever

The Mets will be picking up their club option on left-hander Brooks Raley, retaining him for 2024 via a $6.5M salary instead of taking the $1.25M buyout, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

It’s not a surprising decision, as Raley has been an effective reliever for a few years now. The net $5.25M price point is a perfectly reasonable amount to pay for a reliable left-handed reliever. He posted an earned run average of 2.80 across 66 appearances for the Mets this year. His 10.6% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 25.8% of opponents and kept the ball on the ground at a 43% clip.

Raley spent 2015 to 2019 in Korea, pitching for the Lotte Giants of the KBO. He came back to North America and got a brief look with the Reds before getting flipped to the Astros. In 2021, He had an ERA of 4.78 for Houston but with encouraging underlying metrics. He struck out 31.7% of batters faced while walking 7.8%, but a 59.7% strand rate led to some extra runs crossing the plate. That’s why ERA estimators were far kinder, including a 3.27 FIP and a 2.91 SIERA.

Raley didn’t have six years of service after that season but reached free agency regardless, a common contractual stipulation given to players coming from playing overseas. That led to a two-year, $10M deal with the Rays going into 2022. He then registered a 2.68 ERA for Tampa that year before getting flipped to the Mets prior to 2023.

As mentioned, Raley went on to have another solid season in 2023. He got some trade interest prior to the deadline, as the Mets were selling off pieces amid their disappointing season. He ultimately stayed and will now rejoin the Mets’ bullpen for 2024. As of now, he should be the top lefty in the relief corps, with Josh Walker the only other option on the 40-man. José Quintana, David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi are also left-handed and on the roster but they figure to be in the mix for rotation jobs, depending how the rest of the offseason plays out.