How important is the left handed reliever?

When the Met offseason began, roughly around July of last year....kidding....in early November, Sandy's Alderson's wish list consisted of three major things: outfielder, shortstop, and right handed hitting bench player. With the success of the Mets bullpen last year, adding a reliever wasn't considered a top priority, at the time.

As the offseason progressed and two of the top three needs were addressed, Sandy kept mentioning his urge to acquire another left handed reliever, preferably a veteran, to help round out the bullpen. Ever since Pedro Feliciano left in 2012, the Mets have had some trouble getting the big left handers out, and with the pitching being the team's strong point, good relief pitching is a must.

The offseason came and went and Sandy Alderson did nothing to address this "wish" of adding a left handed reliever. Names were mentioned, Craig Breslow, Joe Beimal, and other, but none were added. No flack was given to Sandy in this regard because all the attention was, and somewhat still is, on his lack of acquiring a short stop. With Josh Edgin's recent injury this spring, acquiring a left handed reliever has become the team's number one priority. My question is this: how important is a left handed reliever as opposed to a strong right handed reliever.

There's no doubt about it, the Mets have talent on the right side of the bullpen. When the above question is asked to Mets fans, and baseball fans alike, there seems to be two arguing positions: one being a left hander, at least one, is a must. The other says that a good right hander should be able to get lefties and righties out. I personally agree with the latter. I would rather see Vic Black, who I know is a capable reliever, pitch to a big time leftie, Matt Adams of the Cardinals for example, than a sub-par Jake Lethersich. WFAN's Mike Francesa recently critized a caller who agreed with this view point. But, is it so crazy to think a good right handed reliever can get lefties out? Why is acquiring a left handed reliever now a make-or-break for this team? It isn't. There's plenty of capable arms in that pen, arms that weren't here a few years ago when lefties and righties in the Mets pen couldn't get me or you out.

All in all, the Mets will break camp with a leftie, which is fine. My point: it should never have been this big of an issue. Have a strong bullpen, end of story.