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Pelfrey as closer in 2012 floated by Collins shot down by Alderson
Mike Pelfrey, Mets closer?
This almost certainly will not happen, but it was a possibility within the past week, when some team officials suggested converting Pelfrey to that role next season. The discussions went far enough that Pelfrey was included in them.
"Would you be willing to be the closer next year?" Terry Collins asked the pitcher, according to someone who was briefed on, but did not witness or participate in, the conversation.
"Absolutely," Pelfrey responded.
Approached with this information before Sunday's 6-2 loss to Milwaukee at Citi Field - another defeat defined by bullpen failure, and underscoring the team's need for relief help - Collins said he did not wish to comment on a private discussion with a player.
Again: This is highly unlikely to happen. Sandy Alderson did not hatch the idea of making Pelfrey a closer, and is said to be averse to it. There are other solid arguments against the move, but the general manager's "no" vote is the only one worth listing, as it is probably definitive.
Still, it is revealing on several levels that the discussion occurred at all, and it underscores several realities facing the Mets in the near future.
First, it is likely that Pelfrey, despite a disappointing season and a salary that will climb to about $6 million, will return next season as a member of the rotation.
The team needs pitching, and Pelfrey has long established an ability to remain on the field and overcome injuries (as in 2010, when he won 15 games for a fourth-place team, despite persistent pain caused by a strained rotator cuff and shoulder capsule). His ability to contribute innings carries significant value.
But as Pelfrey himself has conceded many times, he did not become the ace that his team needed this year, after it lost Johan Santana to shoulder surgery. If Pelfrey had risen to that hope, no one would have broached the idea of moving him to the bullpen.
Instead, his 6-10 record, and 4.61 ERA, led to questions about his role.
The closing idea, though, was far more an indictment of the current bullpen than of Pelfrey. In the 26 games since July 25, Mets relievers have posted a 5.95 ERA.
Sunday's mess was typical: R.A. Dickey allowed two runs in seven innings, and left for a pinch-hitter with the game tied 2-2.
The bullpen's day began when Manny Acosta walked the leadoff batter in the eighth. Over the next two innings, Acosta, Jason Isringhausen and Pedro Beato combined to allow four runs, three of them earned.
"We can't stop anybody," Collins said of the bullpen, before criticizing his own strategy. "I should have stayed with R.A., see if we can keep the game tied."
The manager indicated that roster moves involving the bullpen could occur before September, but hardly sounded enthused about ordering from the current menu.
"We've pretty much had everyone from Buffalo," Collins said.
Next year's bullpen, which Alderson plans to address more aggressively than the rotation this winter, presents similar uncertainty. The talented Bobby Parnell has yet to prove he can close, and Beato, who was in the mix for that job after the team traded Francisco Rodriguez, will not receive those opportunities this season.
"I think he's getting tired," Collins said of Beato.
The lack of options led the team to briefly dream of Pelfrey - who, in a rare relief appearance in San Diego last Tuesday, stormed out of the bullpen with a 96 mph fastball - as a closer. That dream quickly died, but the issues that created it remain quite real.
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Pelfrey wouldn't be my first thought as closer but he'd be worth a shot, his stuff would seem to work well in short stints?
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