2020 MMO Report Card: Chasen Shreve, LHP
Chasen Shreve
Player Data: Age: 30, B/T: L/L
Primary Stats: 17 G, 25 IP, 1-0, 3.96 ERA, 1 HLD, 4 HR, 12 BB, 34 SO, 1.16 WHIP
Advanced Stats: 108 ERA+, 3.99 FIP, 0.3 bWAR. 0.2 fWAR
Free Agent: 2022
2020 Salary: $575,000
Grade: B-
2020 Review
Looking back at the 2020 season, Chasen Shreve proved to be the best offseason addition that GM Brodie Van Wagenen made to his pitching staff.
Van Wagenen signed his former client to a minor league deal and the lefty outperformed the likes of Dellin Betances, Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha and Jared Hughes. Shreve had to earn a job out of summer camp and even when he did, there was no guarantee that he would remain for the length of the season.
The 30-year-old only pitched two innings at the major league level in 2019, as the St. Louis Cardinals ended up releasing him. Shreve enjoyed most of his success during a four-year tenure with the Yankees and the return to New York seemed to suite him well.
Serving as a long man for Luis Rojas, after countless sub-par outings from his starting pitchers, Shreve carved out a great niche during the early parts of the season. He threw two or more innings in six of his first eight outings, pitching to a tidy 2.35 ERA.
Shreve had three outings during that span in which he struck out five batters, while allowing just one hit across those contests.
On August 10th, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer off of Shreve in a game the Mets were already losing 14-2. Those were the only runs he allowed in the entire month of August, as he pitched to a 1.59 ERA across 11 1/3 inning pitched.
Shreve continued to pitch well into September, with his best outing of the month coming against the Philadelphia Phillies.
On September 17th, the Mets were trailing 6-3 when Shreve entered the game in the fifth inning. Relying on his splitter and his fastball, Shreve retired seven consecutive Phillies, striking out three along the way. The Mets clawed back into the game and ultimately won 10-6.
Following that contest, Shreve had a 1.99 ERA with only 10 days left in the season. The final week and a half were not kind to the left-hander, as two rough outings ballooned his ERA.
The Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Rays each tagged Shreve for three earned runs, doubling his season mark in short order. By season’s end, Shreve’s numbers looked far more pedestrian than value he provided as one of the few relievers that could be trusted out of the Mets bullpen.
2021 Outlook
There is no reason to think that Chasen Shreve won’t be a big part of the Mets bullpen in 2021, as they have him under team control for one more season. Unless they non-tender him, Shreve is eligible for his final year of arbitration. Spotrac estimates his salary for 2021 to be only $1 million.
Considering the value he brought this year, as well as the lack of pitching depth they have, there is no reason for the Mets to cut Shreve this offseason.
Shreve’s splitter was one of the nastiest pitches in baseball this season, generating an absurd 55.1% whiff rate and 28 strikeouts. His 12.2 K/9 was the best mark of his career, as he struck out 33.3% of the batters he faced. That K% ranked in the 91st percentile, while his whiff rate put him in 96th percentile.
With his ability to get both lefties and righties out, while providing length out of the bullpen, Shreve should be able to thrive in a similar role for the Mets in 2021.