The MLB season is nearing the home stretch, but for Brooks Raley it has just begun.
Coming off Tommy John surgery performed at the beginning of last season, Raley’s been thrown into the fire right away as one of two Mets left-handed relief pitchers.
“There would be [pressure] if I hadn’t played on this team before,” Raley told The Post before pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Guardians.
Raley said it also helps that he’s familiar with the role, considering that he was the lone lefty out of the bullpen for the majority of his first season with the Mets in 2023.
Carrying that responsibility as the go-to guy to shut down left-handed hitters, Raley thrived with a 2.80 ERA across 66 appearances.
He pitched eight scoreless outings in 2024 before his surgery and has added on seven more scoreless appearances since returning July 19 this season.
But like any player coming back from such an injury, he’s faced his struggles.
“The most difficult part is jumping back right after the All-Star break,” he told The Post. “Some guys have been up here for three months at it — I’m just trying to get back in the flow of everything.”
Though he noted some “sporadic” changeup control since making his return, Raley said he thinks he’s “executed well” overall.
At 37 years old, the veteran is still learning some things along the way.
“You never know, before surgery, how banged up you’ve been,” he told The Post. “I’ve always battled stuff with my elbow before and kind of just found a way to navigate that.”
No longer dealing with “sharpness” in his elbow, pain that he “played with for a while,” Raley has found some immediate success upon his return.
“The [velocity’s] been up a little bit, the ball feels like it comes out better, the movements are a little bit better,” he told The Post.
His return was called essentially a “trade deadline acquisition” by manager Carlos Mendoza — and perhaps he could wind up being the most valuable one in the righty-heavy bullpen.
“[I’m] just trying to find my place and [make] some good adjustments, which I think I’ve done a really good job of,” Raley said. “Knowing that I don’t have to carry more than I’m supposed to because of how many good players we have, it’s just doing my job whenever I’m called upon.”
