On May 30, 2015 the Mets lost their second straight game to the Marlins, this one by a 9-5 score. The Mets used 17 players in this game and 10 of them are no longer on the team and an 11th, Eric Campbell, may be gone later today. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a team that went to the World Series last year. It just goes to show what dead weight was on the team last year. And also goes to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Let’s look at the dearly departed from last May:
Ruben Tejada – Released
Daniel Murphy – Turned down a Qualifying Offer and moved on to Washington
Michael Cuddyer – Retired
Alex Torres – Cut. The other day in the Game Chatter Name pointed out that Torres was cut after posting a 3.15 ERA and a 6.8 BB/9. Meanwhile, Antonio Bastardo sits with a 4.22 ERA and a 5.5 BB/9.
Jon Niese – Traded
Daniel Muno – Dropped from 40-man roster
Erik Goeddel – Pitching in Triple-A
Jack Leathersich – Lost on waivers
John Mayberry Jr. – Designated for assignment
Darrell Ceciliani – Traded for PTBNL or cash
Now let’s look at the current 25-man roster and examine those who may not make it to May 30, 2017:
Jerry Blevins – Is doing a fine job in his limited role. Will the Mets want to spend the money to bring him back when they have Josh Edgin and Sean Gilmartin as available lefties in Triple-A?
Campbell – May not make it to June, much less 2017.
Yoenis Cespedes – It would be an upset if he didn’t opt out of his contract and will Sandy Alderson extend a $100 million contract to a guy on the wrong side of 30?
Bartolo Colon – Another salary consideration, especially if Zack Wheeler comes back strong.
Alejandro De Aza – He was always viewed as a one-year guy.
Wilmer Flores – Not steady enough in the field to be a good defensive backup and has had a tough time getting untracked offensively with limited PA. That the team didn’t feel confident to slide him in at 1B with this six-week opening has to be a concern.
Ty Kelly – His versatility guarantees him a job somewhere. It’s just likely to be in a different spot than Queens.
Kevin Plawecki – Could use some extended time in Triple-A.
Addison Reed – Can the Mets justify paying what he’ll command in arbitration for a set-up guy?
David Wright – Might borrow a page from his pal Cuddyer and up and retire.
It’s not a surprise that there’s so much turnover in rosters from year to year. What is a touch surprising is the team’s inability to have a couple of strong bench players. Juan Lagares has been good this year but he doesn’t have a whole lot of company.
Everyone recalls the game last July when the Mets sent out six guys in the starting lineup with an OPS of .672 or less, including Mayberry and Campbell batting fourth and fifth when both had sub-.200 batting averages. But what about yesterday’s game?
Flores (.532), De Aza (.511), Rene Rivera (.541) and Kelly (.258) were in the lineup and Campbell (.492) was the first pinch-hitter off the bench. Rivera gets a pass for his strong defensive work – and it’s not like he’s a big step down from Plawecki, anyway – but can’t someone pull a Kirk Nieuwenhuis and have a strong 100-PA stretch, even if it’s not indicative of his true offensive game?
It must be maddening to be T.J. Rivera and have done nothing but hit in his career in the Mets’ organization and not get a shot. It was criminal that Matt Reynolds, who’s been a zero with the bat except for one fluke season, got a call-up before him. At least you could justify that somewhat, as Reynolds was on the 40-man. But then when the Mets needed another guy and needed to make a 40-man move, they bypassed him again, this time for Kelly.
Now the Mets need another guy and this time they went outside the organization to bring someone in, again bypassing Rivera. Maybe James Loney will be the guy to go on a BABIP hot streak. That would be great for the Mets and if nothing else, we know they’re due for someone to get lucky. Meanwhile, Rivera sits with a 17-game hitting streak, wondering why the Mets’ bench players stink and he can’t catch a break.
Been following TJ since I first read about him in the Bronx Times Reporter during his Lehman HS days down Tremont Ave from where I worked. Then & since everything I’ve read is positive about his demeanor & work ethic. He’ll play anywhere–last few games in LF for Wally. I bet he’d catch if you asked him to.
The only UDFA I can remember getting significant PT in Queens was Kevin Mitchell. I wonder if Wally knows that and adding the LF experience to his resume is a reminder to the FO. Campbell does have a versatile resume, but he’s no Kevin Mitchell.
Excellent article..and soooo true..it seems the FO is trying to make a statement here…I wonder what it is..whatever it is its idiotic…send down soup and bring up Rivera..
Mets can’t afford to let Cespedes walk. He’s a sure thing barely on the other side of 30. Don’t you think a 2 year extension might get it done?
I’m sure the Mets would love that.
It all depends what Cespedes wants. If he wants a 7-year deal or to be able to say he got the biggest deal of any free agent hitter, well, he’ll be on another team. But from the sound of it, he likes being in NY and you would figure he’d have a good chance to compete for the World Series as long as he’s here.
The Mets should take advantage in that Cespedes wants to stay with the Mets and in NY. I think that if the Mets add another 2 years to make it 4 years 100M, he stays.
Let me tell you who I see in TJ Rivera. Justin Turner that’s who. A player who was good enough to start but was never given the chance by the Mets only to go somewhere else and excel.
Like you I am surprised by the lack of faith shown by the Mets when it comes to their players at Vegas. Isn’t this a great opportunity to see what TJ can do especially if Wright goes to the DL?
If the Mets had any logic which at times is debatable, they would dfa Soup and Reynolds and bring up TJ and activate Loney.
Speaking of Loney, what is the point of having Flores if when a position he is supposed to be the backup for opens up and the Mets look elsewhere for a replacement? Loney was released because he couldn’t hit, yet the Mets are more than willing to give a player from another organization a chance, but not their own. Some things just don’t change with these Mets and being stupid is one of them.
“Let me tell you who I see in TJ Rivera. Justin Turner that’s who”
Justin Turner was on the cusp of the major league level at age 24.
Rivera at age 24 was still in A+. He just got to AAA at age 26 and is currently 27.
The guy who he should remind you of is Eric Campbell, who also made it to AAA at 26 and then debuted the Mets the next year after about a month in Vegas. Another acceptable name would have been Danny Muno, who (cheated) his way to Vegas at 25 and had a cup of coffee in the majors at 26.
Yeah, Im certain thats part of the deal Name.
Mr. Gomes, nice to see you on this web site. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the day Wright’s injury came out after sitting two games, this deal was made. Flores was probably looked at as the third base fill-in and they needed a decent first base fill-in. Probably the Mets wanted Wright to keep it quiet for fear the Padres would up the ante, and they were very fortunate to have the Friars accept just money (although it may have given the Coupons a heart attack).
Nope. No conspiracy theory here. Loney had an opt out that he could have used had the Padres refused if an opportunity presented itself. Whatever Sandy “traded” for him likely was a standard token goodwill amount ($10,000 maybe?)
Source: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/04/padres-to-sign-james-loney-to-minors-deal.html
If he’s looking for the best deal possible, I doubt he’d be talking all the the time about how much he loves it here or the fact he was using the Nats as a bargain wedge.
Gomes— Wright is out…Flores to 3rd….still need 1b
The next few weeks are crucial for Flores, especially if Wright eventually ends up on the disabled list. In a small sample size he has been underperforming when he was being counted on to be a productive super utility man.He needs to start hitting or he will get replaced in that role when the trade market makes some one available.
Campbell was optioned to AAA and Walters was removed from the 40 man. It is fair to give Kelly a chance under these circumstances but TJ Rivera should have been the initial call up, not Kelly.
Kelly was hitting .398, Rivera was hitting .340. Who deserved it more?
I also want to see Rivera come up, but cannot argue with either the Loney move or giving Kelly first shot. Rivera is probably next. Wheeler should be taking Campbell’s spot in a month but then, how do you open another spot for Rivera? It isn’t as easy as we make it.
Well you are not gonna like the news coming down the pipeline. DWright is headed to DL, and likely for an extended period, and, woo-hoo Matt Reynolds is on the way to Miami.