The pair of right-handed pitchers have thrown more than their fair share of the Mets' relief innings so far this season.
Nearly a month into the season, Terry Collins has relied very heavily on Carlos Torres and Gonzalez Germen. The former has been outstanding with a 1.22 ERA and 2.22 FIP, while the latter pitched very well through April 15 but has struggled in two of his last four outings. But it’s not hard to see why Collins has gone to both pitchers frequently.
On the season, however, Germen’s 15.1 innings pitched constitute 19.3 percent of the Mets bullpen’s innings. Torres’s 15 innings constitute 18.9 percent. That makes both of them some of the most heavily relied upon relief pitchers in the big leagues.
Here are the pitchers who have thrown the highest proportion of their bullpen’s innings through April 27. The Mets have two of the top fourteen on the list, and they are one of just two teams with two pitchers on it. For reference, the median major league relief pitcher has thrown 11.1 percent of his team's bullpen innings.
| Pitcher | Team | IP% |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Britton | Orioles | 23.1 |
| Carlos Martinez | Cardinals | 21.3 |
| Burke Badenhop | Red Sox | 19.9 |
| Sam LeCure | Reds | 19.9 |
| Todd Redmond | Blue Jays | 19.9 |
| Francisco Rodriguez | Brewers | 19.4 |
| Gonzalez Germen | Mets | 19.3 |
| Manny Parra | Reds | 19.3 |
| Josh Lueke | Rays | 19.1 |
| Jerome Williams | Astros | 19.1 |
| Adam Warren | Yankees | 18.9 |
| Carlos Torres | Mets | 18.9 |
| Michael Kohn | Angels | 18.6 |
| Wade Davis | Royals | 18.6 |
Over the last couple of weeks, Torres and Germen have been used even more heavily relative to their teammates. Torres has picked up 22.7 percent of the bullpen's innings, and Germen has thrown 20.2 percent. Two out of the team's seven relief pitchers—28.5 percent—have thrown 42.9 percent of the bullpen's recent innings. That’s largely because Jose Valverde and Jeurys Familia have combined to throw just 7 of the bullpen’s 39.2 innings over that span. And over the Mets’ last seven games, Valverde and Familia have combined to throw just three innings.
If Terry Collins doesn’t trust those two pitchers—which is understandable given their performance—the Mets should jettison them and call up a couple of pitchers from the minors who will get a chance to pitch more often. Otherwise, both pitchers need to pitch more often to take some of the burden off Germen and Torres.