Aaron Loup, who has been the Mets‘ best reliever this year and one of the most effective relievers in all of baseball, is set for free agency after the season.
And the 33-year-old, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Mets last offseason, wants to remain a Met.
“I am hoping they intend to sign me back,” Loup told Mike Puma of The New York Post.
The Mets will have complicated decisions to make this offseason, including whether to extend qualifying offers to Michael Conforto and/or Noah Syndergaard, whether to reshape the offense, and how to fortify a starting rotation that could lose Marcus Stroman.
The decision on Loup should be an easy one.
In his first season in New York, Loup has been close to unhittable, with a 1.09 ERA and 0.92 WHIP to go along with 50 strikeouts in 49.2 innings over 58 appearances.
Loup has allowed just one home run all season and has been a key weapon against both right-handers and left-handers.
“This is definitely one of, if not the best bullpen I have been a part of, from start to finish,” Loup told The Post. “It’s been different guys, just not myself, everybody is having good years down there. Everybody has pitched out of big situations at some point, and it’s never the same guy each night, which makes it fun.”
Source: Yahoo Sports