1 day Ago By Anthony Walsh, Last Word On Sports
MLB bullpens are extremely volatile. In one year, a player can be crucial to a team’s success, and the opposite the next year. That’s why it is key for teams to produce new bullpen arms, especially in today’s game.
For the New York Mets , outside of the addition of A.J. Minter , the bullpen looks very similar to last year, except for the addition of 27-year-old Max Kranick .
The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Kranick in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. After just 11 big league games over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Kranick underwent Tommy John surgery, effectively ending his stint as a Pirate. In January of 2024, the Mets claimed him.
He made six starts in the minors before being designated for assignment, but he cleared waivers and found his niche as a reliever in Triple-A. While he made the Mets’ Wild Card roster, he did not appear in the series. After impressing in spring training and having a couple of perfect appearances early in the 2025 season, it’s evident that he will be key to the Mets’ bullpen success this season, and the following reasons will prove why that is.
Max Kranick this season: 3.2 IP 0 ER 1 K Gave the Mets three scoreless innings today pic.twitter.
com/q2qkjTTpua — MetsMuse (@MetsMuse) April 2, 2025 Max Kranick to Play Essential Role in Mets Bullpen Bullpen Uncertainty As exciting as the 2024 season was for the Mets, there was a ton of uncertainty surrounding the bullpen. Coming into the season, it was unknown how Edwin Díaz would perform after a devastating injury kept him out for the entirety of the 2023 season. While his 2024 season was far from poor, it was very inconsistent and a massive drop-off from his All-Star 2022 season.
Additionally, the emergence of Dedniel Núñez in the 2024 season was huge, but once again, injuries derailed his season. Even the aforementioned newcomer A.J.
Minter missed significant time due to hip surgery. The Mets’ bullpen, while talented and full of promise, is desperate for some consistency. Max Kranick could end up being just what they need.
Rolling With the Punches Kranick has been through a lot during his career, some of which have already been detailed here. It’s important to emphasize that he had not thrown a big league pitch since 2022, before March 29th. When he did get into the game, he was thrown into an impossible situation.
The bases were loaded, with just one out. He got through it without allowing a run, and in his three innings since, has yet to allow a walk or a hit. While this is a short sample size, it bodes well for potential future stressful innings.
Following Kranick’s first appearance of the season, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke with reporters on Kranick’s outing. “We talked about at the beginning of the series trying to find [Kranick] a soft spot,” Mendoza said. “And there he was in the eighth inning, down one and facing one of the best hitters in the league [ Yordan Alvarez ], so he got the job done.
” Swiss Army Knife In every effective bullpen, there has to be versatility. With that versatility, it allows flexibility in managers’ decisions and makes it easier to eat innings. So why is Kranick a Swiss army knife? He has years of experience starting in the minor leagues.
Of his 124 minor league games, 82 were starts. This is not to say that he will appear as a starter with the Mets this season, but it could mean a lot in terms of him being a long man. As of right now, José Buttó is the Mets’ go-to long man and is not a bad option, but it never hurts to have a secondary option.
With the uncertainty in the number of innings that Mets starters will give this season, especially with reliever-turned-starter Clay Holmes , and Kodai Senga returning from injury, the ability to give innings in the bullpen is paramount for the Mets this season. Final Thoughts It remains to be seen just how big of a role Max Kranick will have on the Mets this season, but he’s surely gotten off to a great start and has the potential for success. It also doesn’t hurt that he grew up a Mets fan, and has told the media that he grew up attending games at Shea Stadium, and that his favorite player was David Wright .
While that may seem like a trivial detail, a connection with fans can go a long way. After all, who would’ve thought Jose Iglesias would end up being a fan favorite in 2024? One thing is for sure, if you’re a Mets fan looking for a good underdog story, pay attention to Max Kranick this season. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.
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