Either because they’ve been released, traded, rumored to be one or the other, or just in the doghouse, there are a number of players who suited up for the Mets in 2016 that will not return this season.
Gone but not forgotten:
Bartolo Colon, a fan and teammate favorite as much for his big personality and entertainment value as for his steady arm, signed with the Atlanta Braves for a surprising $12.5 million contract. He will be missed and well remembered by Mets fans for years to come.
James Loney did an admirable job filling in for the injured Lucas Duda and kudos to Sandy Alderson for bringing him on board when we needed him. With Duda presumably back to health, Loney has no chance of returning in 2017.
Kelly Johnson, the clutch hitting lefty who we’ve twice traded for in-season, is not likely to return in 2017, at least not before July.
Justin Ruggiano, a mid-season acquisition who filled in capably as a right-handed outfielder while Cespedes was on the DL, will be remembered well for his big grand slam, but he won’t be back with the team in 2017.
Eric Campbell, the often promoted/demoted utility man who can play every position except hitter, signed on to play ball in Japan.
Logan Verrett, a 2015 surprise and 2016 flop, was just traded to the Orioles for cash considerations. If last year was any indication (5.20 ERA in 12 starts), we’ll accept a third party out-of-state check.
Alejandro de Aza, who went from odd man out in the outfield, to disappointment, to briefly hot, and back to odd man out, is a free agent and has about as much of a chance of returning to the Mets active roster as Rusty Staub.
Jon Niese, once a franchise cornerstone, traded in a lop-sided deal for Neil Walker, and brought back on a swap of bad contracts through a trade of Antonio Bastardo (no chance of him coming back in a Mets uniform) to Pittsburgh, had his remaining option declined for a $500,000 buyout. Not a bad severance package by civilian standards.
All but gone:
Jay Bruce‘s short reign as an inadequate cleanup hitter will almost certainly come to an end with the resigning of Yoenis Cespedes. Hopefully, we can get something solid in return like a useful bullpen arm or prospects to help make up for giving up Dilson Herrera for two bad months of Bruce.
Jerry Blevins, our best bullpen lefty the last two seasons, is a free agent and is rumored to be looking at multi-year contract offers. He may well be gone.
On the fence:
Fernando Salas, a mid-season pickup who helped solidify the back end of the bullpen, is also a free agent and may find a better offer elsewhere.
Rene Rivera proved a very capable reserve catcher, playing outstanding defense and getting an occasional clutch hit. Unfortunately, arbitration calls for him to get a raise to more than $2 million, a bit steep for a backup.
Jim Henderson, a reclamation project in the bullpen, had his moments in 2016. Depending on other options he could at least be invited to spring training, but he’d be no lock to make the opening day roster.
Erik Goeddel holds a similar fate.
Back in Vegas:
T.J. Rivera finally got a chance to prove himself in the big leagues and did not disappoint, hitting .333 in 105 at bats. If David Wright and the rest of the infield is healthy to start the season, he’ll likely begin the season in AAA, but he’ll be up in Queens before long.
Josh Smoker and Josh Edgin, our two remaining lefties in the bullpen, will likely duke it out for one roster spot with the other heading to Las Vegas to start the season.
Sean Gilmartin and Rafael Montero, on the other hand, are two pitchers we’ve probably all seen enough of for a while. If they’re still with the organization, they’ll begin the year at AAA.
Gabriel Ynoa gave us three emergency starts and a couple of mop-up innings as well, but delivered a 6.38 ERA, so he seems destined for Las Vegas to start the season.
Matt Reynolds, Ty Kelly, and Gavin Cecchini all filled in either due to injuries or September call-ups. They’ll all start the season in Las Vegas and hopefully we don’t see too much of them in Queens this year.
I think judging Bruce so lightly is a mistake. I don’t trade him unless we get a solid return considering he’s on final year of his contract. I’m also pulling for T.J. to make the team out of Spring Training!
The Mets sold Logan Verrett to make room on the 40-man for Cespedes. I’d rather that they would have DFAd Reynolds.
I believe Henderson is a free agent now. The guy we saw early in the year, the one who threw 96+, I wish we could get that guy. Not sure he exists anymore and if he does, he certainly can’t pitch back-to-back games or two times in three days.
Mets have little need for either but I think Matt has a little more upside at this point.
I don’t agree with that but for sake of argument, let’s say it’s true.
Reynolds is going to play 3b or SS. Here’s who’s ahead of him on the depth chart:
3B – Wright, Reyes, Flores, Rivera
SS – Cabrera, Reyes
If somehow both Cabrera and Reyes were hurt at the same time and out for an extended period, it’s just as likely that they would use Rosario, who’s on the 40-man now. If it was a short-term thing, they could use Cecchini. Shoot, they could use Flores, too.
Verrett had more value to the club as an 8th starter than Reynolds does as a 5th 3B or 4th SS
Henderson was outrighted off the 40-man roster. Theoretically he could sign anywhere but likely will wind up in Vegas.
Verrett, as said, is gone.
The last time I looked we said sayonara to Eric Campbell, not Derek.
Granderson and Bruce are both likely gone to reclaim $28 million in salary while giving full time ABs to Conforto and his minimum wage salary. They may want to find a CF who can also lead off. Had they planned ahead, Jose Reyes could have filled that role against righties with Lagares filling in against lefties. That would have made a spot for T.J. Rivera as a backup infielder.
Of course, between Duda and Wright, one will likely start the year on the DL and thus Rivera will come north.
First, it’s Eric Campbell (not Derek Campbell) …. second, Blevins was our best bullpen lefty last year, but to say best bullpen lefty for last two seasons is a stretch since he got hurt in April ’15 and never returned.
That said, good synopsis …. I wish they could find a way to bring Kelly Johnson back since he really has thrived as a Met the last two seasons.
I’d see if I could bring back Salas & Rene Rivera. And of course I’d love it they could keep Blevins, but I think either Edgin, Smoker or both could fill that void.
I think Rivera might be worth keeping, a backup catcher is more important than a backup at some other position because it is so specialized, and suffers the most wear and tear. He is the best defensive catcher on the roster and i think he would get in enough innings to justify the salary which in the grand scheme of MLB payroll is not that much
Catching is the Mets offensive achilles heel. If they were to trade both Granderson and Bruce and sign Matt Weiters (MLBTR 3/39 projection) then the black hole in the batting order becomes Lagares in centerfield who is capable of a 5.5 WAR because of his defense. How soon we have forgotten Juan.
If we take Alderson at his word, then the C position is over. Its TdA and KP. Im not happy about either. TdA is a liability on both sides of the ball, so why he gets so much opportunity in the face of failure astounds me. I guess as the principal in the Dickey deal he came with a long leash. I think its too bad, because our production from C has been terrible, and sadly the best defensive guy we have, and Syndergaards preference, wont be here.
Steamer projections:
Wieters – .245/.302/.407 in 404 PA
TDA – .253/.320/.414 in 368 PA
And you want to pay over $11 million more this year and be on the hook for two more years afterwards? I get wanting to upgrade from TDA but Wieters isn’t the guy, unless you think he’s going to noticeably beat this projection both in production and playing time.
If the Mets had the money because they traded both Granderson and Bruce then they should reinvest it into their weakest offensive position. Weiters should reach that projection but after last year I am not sure d’Arnaud will. Weiters is not an ideal choice but he is available. Unlike Sandy, I feel an upgrade is necessary if the money is available. A trade would be better but Alderson is not looking. He isn’t looking at Weiters either. Sandy has refused to acknowledge the poor catching situation or he is just playing possum.
This has become a mute argument as Rivera has been signed for $1.75M. Rivera is happy, Syndergaard is happy, Plawecki is not.
Plawecki is AAA depth.
I suspect this could be a lot like the Tejada situation a few years ago, where they are keeping Rivera around for insurance, but may release him during spring Training which would only require the Mets to pay him 1/6 of the salary he signed.
The catching free agent corp just got a little more interesting with Wellington Castillo in the mix.
I don’t think it’s likely that they’ll trade both of those guys – but ok, let’s say that they do.
Then without an OF upgrade, you’re counting on two guys being starters who have never individually produced more than 465 PA in a season, two guys who combined for 508 PA and a .226 AVG last year. Without a SP addition, you’re counting on 4 guys who ended the season injured being able to come back and give innings all year. You’re counting on a bullpen to thrive without Familia for an undetermined length and which likely will have to replace Blevins’ production, too.
With a payroll in the $140 million range, you’re going to have to take on risk somewhere. The Mets catching situation can’t be much worse than it was last year. I’d rather risk it being just as bad as it was in 2016 rather than risk a shaky OF or shaky SP depth or shaky bullpen. All three of those areas can be much worse than they were for the team in 2016.
Projections are a joke Brian. That doesnt mean a thing.
Your response is a joke Chris. It doesn’t mean a thing.
Do you honestly believe TdA is going to outperform Wieters as a catcher? How many GG does TdA have? How good is he at handling the staff? What about throwing out runners? What about calling a game?
I believe whatever the difference between the two is not worth $11+ million dollars.
I also believe that even if it was worth it, that the money would be better spent elsewhere.
I find this hard to deal with too Brian. We associate $ with some level of expected outcome. But the salaries people get are not metered only to performance. Its a joke what Syndergaard gets paid relative to, say Charlie Morton, who just signed for 2 yrs at 7M$/yr. It makes no sense. Salaries are linked to need, status in rebuild, status in championship runs etc. Am I crazy about 18M$ for Fowler or 12M$ for Wieters? Hell no, but that is what the market will bear, so that is the value.
I really believe we are on a 2-3 year window to win a championship, quite conceivably the last in my life time. I dotn think any combination of Rivera, TdA, and KP can get the job done when the moment counts. I view C as a critical position. Go through the last WS teams for years: Ross, Molina, Posey, Perez and you see real players at C regardless how the team wins as a pattern. Wieters is in that group, TdA is so far out from it, he cant even see in.
Looking strictly at the 2017 Mets, I’m less concerned with money being tied to outcome than with getting the most bang for our buck. I think we’ll get more value paying the going rate for a real 7th-8th inning guy – not this year’s version of Antonio Bastardo – than the going rate for a desirable free agent catcher.
2011 Wieters was probably in that group. 2016 Wieters was definitely not in that group.
I get that and fully agree with you. We need serious pen help, but I view C and CF as equally important. I just am in pain forfeiting 4 outs from pitchers *and* 4 outs from catchers night after night…and not to mention unable to call a decent game and throw out runners. I am a 100% committed “strong up the spine” guy.
Im not excited about our CF situation, or corner IF. Sandy has work to do still. However, the signing of Rivera says C is out. On Power Alley yesterday, Sandy said he was not in on any serious CF like Fowler, citing Lagares and _________ (insert name). He also said Walker was going to start the season at 100%; DWright has not begun baseball activities, although he expects him to be ok by April, but not clear how much he will play.
The fate of some of these players depends on the expected trade of Bruce (or Granderson) and who the new players are and how much salary they bring in on the return. Rumour and articles indicate the Mets prefer a $145-150M team payroll.
The Mets gave Bastardo a 2/12 so they should offer Blevins at least that. He has been successful in NY and that should also weigh heavily in the decision.
TJ could make the roster as a 5th outfielder (hitter) but Kelly Johnson as a versatile veteran that made only $2M in 2016 should be signed instead and would be insurance for Duda’s health. KJ has more pop than TJ. Nimmo is too young to sit on a major league bench as a fifth outfielder and needs to continue to play everyday.
I like the Blevins idea, but he’d want three years. Nimmo needs to start; he can be a table setter. If he flops, then turn to Johnson
If Logan Verrett was so bad with the Mets why didn’t they just release him to protect Paul Sewald from the draft?
Follow the money.
They sold Verrett rather than outrighting him.
They probably knew they could deal him when factoring ther 40-man roster.
Seward is interesting, but a long shot at the Rule 5. Would you want to guarantee him a spot on an MLB roster for an entire season?
But honestly, I don’t have a feel for the guy. I’m just assuming that they’ve made a considered assessment and hope that it’s accurate.
The amount of money that exchanges hands is always inconsequential.
Waiver claims cost 20k (or maybe slightly higher in the new CBA?), so maybe the Orioles paid 25-50k for the luxury of not waiting to find out if they would be winner of the waiver claim.
Not sure where I got Derek from. I corrected that.
If we don’t bring back Blevins and Salas, we need reasonable facsimiles like, say, Boone Logan and Brad Ziegler.
I would love to see Kelly Johnson back but I don’t see it happening. Team has too many lefties and enough infielders (on paper).
As much as it would be great to save $28 million in payroll and open a spot for say, Dexter Fowler, I also don’t see the team trading away both Granderson and Bruce. It makes sense to keep one of them while Conforto and Nimmo develop in platoon or part-time roles for a season.
Matt, I hear your point about trading away both Granderson and Bruce while Conforto and Nimmo are unproven. You may be right. However, the left-handedness is an obstacle to their development.
If we want Conforto and Nimmo to develop, maybe a different RH outfielder would be a more complementary piece. Or maybe we already have that in Lagares?
If we lose Rivera, MLB Trade Rumors pegs our old friend Anthony Recker as a non-tender candidate in Atlanta. He’s slated to make $1million compared to $2.2mm for Rivera. I prefer Rivera, but this team certainly can’t begin the season with TDA and Plawecki as our only catchers. One’s made of Legos and the other can’t hit big league pitching at all so far.
I can’t believe I am writing this but there are some scenarios where I could see the Mets bringing back De Aza. It’s a bit of a long shot but I could see Alderson trade both Bruce and Granderson in the next week. One of the players I am suggesting the team look at in trade is J.D. Martinez, the Tigers’ right fielder. (I have submitted an article that Brian will probably post in the next few days). If the team had Cespedes in left and Martinez in right then center field goes to Lagares who can’t stay healthy and who can’t hit righties. The next choice for CF is the unproven Brandon Nimmo. In a situation like that it might not be awful to have De Aza back to at least share center with Lagares.
It would be interesting to see whether Jose Reyes could play some center field during the spring. Should Wright be healthy enough to play third then Reyes, leading off and playing center could be very productive.
Maybe our new third base coach can transform Conforto into a catcher. All problems solved!