PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets reached agreement yesterday with right-handed reliever Brandon Lyon, 33, on a one-year contract, according to club sources. Lyon was in New York taking a physical and the Mets are waiting on the results of the physical before officially announcing the deal.
For better or worse, the bullpen is set. Time will tell if the assortment of new veterans and last season’s holdovers will be a success. It can’t be much worse than last year, when the Mets posted the second-worst bullpen ERA in the majors at 4.65, just behind the Brewers’ 4.66. The Reds led with a 2.65 bullpen ERA.
Lyon has closer experience, which is valuable because of Frank Francisco’s issues. Francisco is coming off December surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. Francisco is going into camp as the closer, and he made that point on Wednesday, telling The Post, “I am the closer.’’
Manager Terry Collins also said Francisco is the closer: “You’re the guy,’’ Collins told him.
But if Francisco stumbles or does not bounce back from the relatively minor procedure, Collins will have a fallback in Lyon. Essentially, the Mets have created a situation in which Francisco is not the only option, and will be pushed to succeed.
Francisco saved 23 of 26 games, but his ERA was a career-high 5.83 as he posted a 1-3 mark. Lyon owns 79 career saves but had only one save last season and just five saves over the last two years. He was 4-2 last season with a 3.10 ERA with the Astros and Blue Jays.
“We have some quality guys to get us to the ninth inning now,” Collins said of the bullpen. “We think we’ve gotten better. Now we have to go out and prove it.’’
The manager also said it is imperative relievers take to whatever role they are given, pointing out the pitcher’s role is to “get the guy in the batter’s box out. The ninth inning is big, but there are a lot of games won in the seventh,’’ he said.
* It is back to the future, as the Mets’ spring training ballpark once is again Tradition Field, after being called Digital Domain Park for the past two years. … Ike Davis joined the voluntary workouts yesterday.