The Mets have acquired left-handed relief pitcher Brooks Raley from the Tampa Bay Ray for minor-league pitcher Keyshawn Askew.
In 53.2 innings across 60 appearances last season, the 34-year-old southpaw posted a 2.68 ERA and 0.969 WHIP to go with an impressive 33% strikeout rate. Left-handed batters also hit just .155 against him.
It was the best season of the journeyman’s career, which included stops in the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Cincinnati Reds organizations as well as Korea.
He will likely be the front-runner to replace Joely Rodriguez — the left-handed reliever who signed with the Boston Red Sox this offseason after hitting the free-agent market. That means high-leverage, late-inning situations against the opposition’s best left-handed batters are likely in the cards for Raley.
