PORT ST. LUCIE — For a change, left could be right in the Mets bullpen.
After so many years starting spring training hopeful one lefty reliever might emerge to claim a job in the bullpen, the Mets have at least two trusted options in Antonio Bastardo and Jerry Blevins, and could possibly place a third on the list.
Added to a righty mix that will include Jeurys Familia, Addison Reed and Hansel Robles, the Mets can’t complain about their bullpen.
“It’s going to be way better this year, that is what I think,” Bastardo said Monday. “We dominate the game from the beginning and we’re going to dominate the game at the end, too.”
Manager Terry Collins has suggested two bullpen jobs are open this spring, barring injury. Sean Gilmartin is a strong candidate to seize one of those openings, potentially giving the Mets a third lefty.
The organization also has lefty Josh Edgin rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and expected to return in May. Another lefty in camp, Josh Smoker, is a former first-round draft pick by the Nationals and brings 97 mph heat.
Collins considers Blevins his lefty specialist who can enter to face a Bryce Harper or Freddie Freeman in a big spot in the late innings. Bastardo has more crossover possibility as somebody who can remain in the game to face righty batters.
“It’s pretty nice to think we’ve got a couple of different options from the left side and we could have a third, depending on how this camp goes,” Collins said.
Blevins’ action was limited last season because of freak injuries: He suffered a broken arm on a batted ball in April, before fracturing the same bone during rehab in August, when he stumbled on a curb. But Blevins impressed the Mets in his seven appearances, in which he did not allow a base runner.
“The one thing we saw from Jerry last year and we saw in the past, that big lefty in certain situations, he gets them out,” Collins said. “He gets them out and that’s nice to know — we can get him ready for certain spots, depending on who is coming up, what part of the order is coming up, and it makes a difference.”
Blevins said he sees a more settled bullpen situation than when he arrived to the Mets in a trade with the Nationals near the end of spring training last year.
“Depth is what I think strikes me the most,” said Blevins, who signed a one-year deal worth $4 million to return. “We have guys that have experience, starting with Familia at the back end. And then you have a guy like Reed to lock down the eighth. And then Bastardo has just been a great pitcher his whole career.”
Bastardo, who went 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 66 appearances for the Pirates last season, received a two-year deal from the Mets worth $12 million only after the organization reassessed the market in January. Team brass had earlier been resolute not to give a reliever a multi-year deal.
“I was surprised, because [the Mets] were out for a long period of time,” Bastardo said. “So I was surprised they jumped in at the end and we got a deal done.”
Gilmartin could be the third lefty. A Rule 5 draft selection who arrived from the Twins, he went 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 50 appearances last season, handling a variety of roles.
The Mets view Gilmartin as a possible swingman who can pitch in long relief or spot start if needed.
“Gilmartin did a nice job for us last year and you’re going to have to have a guy that is multiple innings and can come in if a starter gets knocked out early,” pitching coach Dan Warthen said. “[Former manager] Jimmy Leyland always liked to have three lefties.”