Prior to the Rule 5 Draft, the 40-man roster stood at 33. Now it’s full. Actually, its been full for awhile but that point was driven home when the Mets re-signing of Adam Ottavino became official and they had to release a player. William Woods, a reliever picked up on waivers from the Braves on Nov. 18, was the player who lost his spot to Ottavino.
In the past, you could always count on a bunch of dead weight from the farm system on the 40-man. Guys you knew were no good, like Tyler Bashlor, Jacob Rhame and Patrick Mazeika. Khalil Lee still fills that bill for me but I know that many people think he’s still worthwhile. But after that, it’s not so clear.
There are a bunch of pitchers that they’ve picked up since the season ended, who may or may not be any better than the Bashlor Bunch. But at least they have the unknown going for them.
Jeff Brigham – Missed essentially two years with a nerve issue in his right biceps. Appeared in 16 games for the Marlins last year and had a 10.5 K/9
John Curtiss – The Mets actually picked him up last April but he was sitting out the year after undergoing TJ surgery. Another mid-90s guy, Curtiss seemed on the verge of a breakout with an improved slider before the injury.
Zach Greene – A Rule 5 pick from the Yankees. A three-pitch reliever with a 12.64 K/9 in Triple-A last year.
Elieser Hernandez – A swingman who will vie for Trevor Williams‘ old role.
Stephen Ridings – A shoulder injury helped ruin his 2022 campaign but previously he touched triple-digits.
Tayler Saucedo – A hip injury limited him to a combined 21.2 IP in the minors/majors last year. But he’s a potential cross-over lefty reliever due to his sinker.
Five of these six pitchers have options remaining, with Greene having to be offered back to the Yankees before they can try to pass him thru waivers. Hopefully these guys will replace the following depth relievers who had an ERA north of 5.40 for the Mets last year.
R.J. Alvarez
Yoan Lopez
Adonis Medina
Jake Reed
Sean Reid-Foley
Chasen Shreve
Rob Zastryzny
These seven depth relievers of 2022 combined for 80.2 IP and 60 ER. OK, Shreve wasn’t a depth reliever but he might as well have been with his performance. It’s unrealistic to think that you’re never going to have bad performances from relievers. But hopefully the guys listed above will help the Mets have fewer than 80.2 IP of rotten results.
I don’t think Lee has the chops to make it in the majors but until the Mets have a viable fourth outfielder who can play center, that man remains Lee.
I’m sitting in a weird spot emotionally. I love and hate the Correa signing in ways that other fans might not. I have to love his potential impact to the team and the upgrade he gives the Mets offensively over Escobar and defensively over Baty. At the same time I’m looking at a big time impact prospect having his future cast into doubt because of his home position being filled for the next 12 years. Sure, Baty can shift to left field but I am so unused to the Mets acting in this new Steve Cohen manner. Whether it’s my Championship Starved Self eager for Correa’s impact or my Minor League pundit self wanting validation for the prospects I’ve been following, I just want this saga to be over. I’m getting tired of not knowing.
Solid thinking. That’s why I am actually fine either way. But given that Correa is in, or entering, his prime, a talent of his magnitude is very likely to be superior to the best projection for Baty. And yet Baty will draw an excellent return in a trade. This is one of those rare situations where nobody is really ultimately at fault, except the Giants’ calling a press conference. But they were right to try and sign him, right to pause after his medical, Boras was right to contact Mets, he and Correa were right to get the best possible deal, Mets were right to pounce, and now right to pause pending negotiation.
Both Canha and Marte can play CF.
It’s hard to look at this offseason and think the Mets would carry a non-catcher with the track record of Strikeout Khalil, regardless of how the rest of the offseason unfolds.
But… the other option is Darin Ruf.
Eppler traded for Ruf. If push comes to shove and the final roster spot is going to either Lee or Ruf, well, it’s not going to be Lee.
My recollection is that from the day they drafted Baty, school was out as to whether he’d be able to play a MLB-caliber 3B. His short stint in the bigs last year, while a small sample, was not a strong endorsement…he looked worse that JD Davis and advanced stats agreed. It looks like he has played 173 minor league games at 3B with a .916 fielding percentage.
Sure, he could work hard and improve like Pete, but he can also work hard at corner OF and give himself an alternate path to a Mets career, with or without Correa, where he can contribute on defense too. He is tracking to be a quality LH power bat with high OBP. He has barely played at AAA. No shame in OF. He should be shagging flies daily already this winter.
I’m with you on this. He looked very bad at 3B. Hurt himself fielding a grounder.
I hope he can hack LF.
I can see a scenario where the Mets have to choose between Baty and Mauricio out there.
Out of the seven pitchers listed above, I know that Shreve, Reed, Lopez and Zastryzny are gone.
I like the Correa signing and I hope that they can work things out on the contract. I do not like the 12 years though. That’s a long time.
I have no problem with the Mets looking at trying players out in new positions, especially the outfield. Look at Robin Yount. Long time shortstop ended up in the outfield. Fact is, Baty and others are prospects, and until they produce in the big leagues, they are just prospects.
The Mets are in a win now mode and that means signing free agents like Correa when available to put us over the top. Have some faith, it will all work out.
LF and 1B is where bats with no position go. There’s also DH. If Baty can hit,he can play.Mets don’t seem to be in a hurry to trade prospects and why should they? No glaring needs that a few more FA signings can’t cure.
For 2023 in AAA, Baty should learn RF, because of arm ,and Mauricio CF because of speed. If all goes well, then re-evaluate the outfield alignment in 2024. I don’t see a place in the active roster for 2023 for Vientos. Escobar, Alvarez and even Ruf are in front of him in the depth chart at RHB DH.
Concerning the relief pitchers, there is only two spot remaining if Peterson stays on the active roster as a long reliever. And that spot may go to Tommy Hunter. I’m not too concerned about the relief corp anymore with the passengers that they sold tickets to for the Syracuse Shuttle.
Diaz, Ottavino, Robertson, Raley and Smith for the first five relievers. Then the six guys mentioned in the opening along with Joey Lucchesi, Tylor Megill and David Peterson vying for the other three spots. And you can add Hunter, Bryce Montes de Oca and Stephen Nogosek to the competition, too.
Both the Mets and Syracuse should have good pens this season.
I can see Vientos being the primary DH in 2024, with Alvarez primarily a C then and Escobar gone.
It’s a helluva team but with that payroll it figures.