David Stearns outlined the goal and then delivered.
The Mets acquired lefty reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported, strengthening the bullpen ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Stearns, the Mets’ president of baseball operations, made it clear on July 21 he wanted to give manager Carlos Mendoza more proven commodities to cover the later innings.
The Mets have largely enjoyed strong relief work this season, particularly with closer Edwin Diaz, but some of the early-season standouts have endured some bumps in the road over the last month or so and the unit has dealt with injuries.
A.J. Minter, Dedniel Nunez, Danny Young and Max Kranick are all done for the season, while Jose Butto just returned from the injured list.
“We’ve been hit with injuries in the pitching staff, I think specifically the bullpen. And so we will be active there,” Stearns said. “I think providing our group some reinforcements in the bullpen would be great.”
Soto went 0-2 with a 3.96 ERA spanning 36 1/3 innings for the Orioles this season. Lefties hit just .138 against him with a .547 OPS.
He will settle in alongside Diaz and set up man Reed Garrett, and now provides a second lefty option in addition to Brooks Raley, who is working his way back from injury, among other relief options.
Having a fortified pen will also help a rotation that has struggled to provide length in recent weeks, while Clay Holmes’ innings will be monitored in his transition to a starting pitcher.
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“There are generally relievers traded at the deadline, and so I’m sure there will be some this [deadline] as well,” Stearns said recently. “I think we’ll be involved in that.”
The Mets land Soto while they lead the Phillies by one half-game in the NL East, with a three-game series in San Francisco beginning Friday night.
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