When evaluating exactly who can help the New York Mets improve upon their horrific 2012 bullpen performance, I keep returning to Greg Burke, signed early in the offseason, and already added to the 40-man roster.

^[1]This may seem like wishful thinking, and to a certain extent, it is. Burke hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2009; he pitched for the Orioles at Double-A and Triple-A in 2012, but never earned a big league shot.

Still, some have compared the sidearming Burke to Chad Bradford ^[2], but this comparison isn’t really apt. Burke throws in the low-90s ^[3] with his fastball, slider coming in at 83. Bradford’s fastball regularly checked in ^[4] at lower velocity than Burke’s slider.

Accordingly, while Bradford struggled throughout his career to get lefties out (except, oddly, in his single season with the Mets), Burke has a better shot of doing so. And he did, last season in particular ^[5], putting up strong numbers against lefties and righties.

In this way, Burke has a chance to be more like a different righty sidearmer for the Mets in recent years, Joe Smith. While he was strictly an option against righties while with the Mets, Smith has become a true weapon ^[6] for the Cleveland Indians. His OPS against righties in 2012 was .600. Against lefties? .585. (Love you, J.J. Putz trade!)

Smith is a fastball/slider pitcher, with comparable velocity on both ^[7], though Burke throws a bit harder. But Smith represents a model of what Burke can be.

Considering how many people want to make Josh Edgin something more than a situational lefty, which is career splits indicate would be a massive stretch, I’m surprised to hear the universal conclusion that Burke is a ROOGY only.

This is a year to experiment in the bullpen, by necessity. Burke deserves a look as a crossover guy.

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