And yet they sit just half a game out of first place in the NL East and hold the second wild-card spot, behind only the Cubs (-554 to make the playoffs, per Caesars). A plethora of pitcher injuries have left the Mets short on arms at times.

“Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns used a similar strategy in the past. While with the Milwaukee Brewers, he broke in future top starters Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta as relievers for teams in playoff hunts. However, there is more risk in going such a route compared to acquiring a proven reliever.”