The New York Mets and reliever Adam Ottavino have agreed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal to keep the veteran right-hander in Queens, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday.
The deal includes an opt-out after the 2023 season and a $1 million performance bonus for each year.
Ottavino experienced a career resurgence with the Mets in 2022 after signing in free agency. After posting a 4.59 ERA with a 1.481 WHIP and 2.18 strikeouts per walk across the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the 34-year-old was a vital late-inning bridge to Edwin Diaz with the Mets. His ERA shrunk to 2.06, his WHIP to 0.975, and his strikeouts-to-walk ratio more than doubled to 4.94.
“He’s like that furnace that you don’t realize how hot it is until you get real close to it,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said of Ottavino during the season. “The more you’re around him you realize what a competitive furnace is burning underneath.”
The 36-year-old returns to a reworked Mets bullpen that suddenly looks plenty stable toward the back end. Not only did the Mets also retain their superstar closer in Diaz to the richest reliever contract in MLB history last month, but they also brought in veteran right-hander David Robertson as another late-inning option to provide depth within New York’s stable.
Elieser Hernandez and Brooks Raley were also acquired after the departures of notable relievers like Trevor May, Seth Lugo, and Joely Rodriguez.
