NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The free-agent market for outfielders is thinner than usual at the dawn of the Winter Meetings. For starting pitchers, it is practically nonexistent. But the market for late-inning relievers is robust, with closers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon all hitting free agency at the same time.
For a Mets club seeking back-end relief help, particularly with Jeurys Familia facing a possible suspension via Major League Baseball's Joint Domestic Violence Policy, those names might seem tempting. But general manager Sandy Alderson's general aversion to bullpen volatility makes a marriage with any of them unlikely.