Mets Camp Promises To Have Plenty Of Exciting Battles

As the Mets get ready for their 48th Spring Training camp in franchise history, Mets beat writer Adam Rubin gives us the complete list of everyone who will be making the trip. In addition to all the players on the 40 Man Roster, here are the non-roster invitees:

Pitchers (10)
Blackley, Travis (L)
Dickey, R.A.
Dessens, Elmer
Egbert, Jack
Takahashi, Hisanori, (L)
Fogg, Josh
Livingston, Robert (L)
Mejia, Jenrry
Muniz, Carlos
Niesen, Eric (L)

Catchers (2)
Riggans, Shawn
Pena, Francisco

Infielders (8)
Adams, Russ
Cervenak, Mike
Davis, Ike
Hernandez, Luis
Hessman, Mike
Jacobs, Mike
Green, Andy
Tejada, Ruben

Outfielders (4)
Cabrera, Jolbert
Catalanotto, Frank
Feliciano, Jesus
Nieuwenhuis, Kirk

The Mets will have plenty of jobs up for grabs and the competition should make for a very interesting spring training.

In the coming days, we’ll take a good long look at all the battles and provide you with regular updates throughout the spring as the Mets try to figure out which 25 players will be making the final cut. By my count, there are about seven roster spots that have yet to be decided.

One thing that might make an impact and weigh heavy in the decision making process are those players who have no remaining minor league options. The Mets have four such players and they are:

Fernando Nieve, Nelson Figueroa, Pat Misch and Anderson Hernandez.

If any of those players are demoted, they must pass through waivers first and they could be claimed by another team.

When you consider the success Fernando Nieve and Nelson Figueroa have had in Winter Ball, you get the feeling that they may have an inside track on a couple of those roster spots. Then again, the Mets have risked losing Figueroa last season, and still managed to retain him due to lack of interest from other teams.

Some of the key battles this spring include:

Starting Catcher – Omir Santos, Henry Blanco, Shawn Riggans, Chris Coste, Josh Thole

First Base – Daniel Murphy, Mike Jacobs, Ike Davis

Number 5 Starter – Fernando Nieve, Nelson Figueroa, Josh Fogg, Hisanori Takahashi, Jon Niese, Jenrry Mejia

Plenty of bullpen spots have yet to be decided as well. Keep your dial tuned to MMO and we’ll keep you up to date and in the know. Lets Go Mets!