Mar
27
2011

Final 25 Man Roster Projection: It’s Crunch Time

An article by Hojo's Mojo

Willie Harris has an opt-out clause in his contract that kicks in today according to Adam Rubin, so we know the Mets must make at least one roster cut today if not more. Harris has been assured by Terry Collins that he has made the team.

Speaking of Carlos Beltran, he will DH today in a minor league game, while Daniel Murphy plays in right field. The plan for Beltran is to get the day off on Monday, and then play in grapefruit league games on Tuesday and Wednesday. David Lennon of Newsday says that’s a bad idea, and that they should just DL Beltran already and give him more time to get ready. After striking out three times yesterday, Lennon said Beltran has yet to face any real pitching and any success he’s had has come from facing Low-A scrubs.

Jason Isringhausen will pitch in today’s game and there’s still no telling if he’s made the team. It’s his first game back since experiencing some soreness in his arm. He is still very adamant that if he does not make the team he’ll just pack it in and refuse any minor league assignment. “I came here to make the team,” he told Mike Puma of the NY Post.

His main competition comes from Blaine Boyer and Manny Acosta who the Mets could lose if they fail to make the team. One thing is certain and that is that a couple of those players is about to get some bad news in the next 24-48 hours and their time as Met will come to an end.

Here is how things project this morning, with just one spot still remaining in the bullpen:

Pitchers
Mike Pelfrey
R.A. Dickey
Jon Niese
Chris Young
Chris Capuano
Francisco Rodriguez
Bobby Parnell
D.J. Carrasco
Pedro Beato
Tim Byrdak
Taylor Buchholz

Catchers
Josh Thole
Mike Nickeas

Infielders
Ike Davis
Brad Emaus
Jose Reyes
David Wright
Daniel Murphy
Chin-ling Hu

Outfielders
Jason Bay
Angel Pagan
Carlos Beltran
Scott Hairston
Willie Harris

About the Author: Rob Johnson

12 Comments + Add Comment

Sean Kenny March 27, 2011 at 10:35 am

Beat me to posting it by a few minutes Rob. It makes some sense, but most of this roster has been fairly apparent for some time, it was just speculation. The offensive positions at least were more solid then the pen.
- Hojo's Mojo March 27, 2011 at 10:58 am
  
  Yes I agree, it was almost a foregone conclusion with Harris and Hairston and even Emaus to a lesser extent. Sorry about cutting in I saw nothing in the queue and just started typing away. Wow 7 more days.
  - Sean Kenny March 27, 2011 at 11:04 am
    
    Didn’t cut it, the early bird gets the speculative news from beat reporters, lol. Luck of the draw. I’m a little upset at Duda not getting a chance…he mashes righties, and neither Harris no Hairston does that. It seems to make sense to platoon him.
    - Hojo's Mojo March 27, 2011 at 11:13 am
      
      I’ve been a big Duda supporter all off season and questioned the need to sign both Harris and Duda. It’s not like he’s 22 years old, he’s 25 and was mashing the ball in the last three weeks of the season last year. He’s also not a phenom prospect like a Heyward or Brown where you worry about getting enough playing time, he’s just what could amount to a good everyday player if things break right for him. Next year he’ll be 26 and we’ll be doing this all over again.
      - Sean Kenny March 27, 2011 at 11:21 am
        
        There is a shot Beltran can’t play at all/enough and Hairston gets exposed as a util guy at best, and the brain trust sees sending a guy who hits .240 or .250 against righties, and has a guy waiting in the wings who smashes them with regularity, they release Hairston since this braintrust, to quote Jay-Z has said “money ain’t a thing”.
        
        Beltran hurt, Hairston not doing much, Duda by…June?
        
        stick March 27, 2011 at 12:01 pm
        
        I don’t think hairston will ever be the starter for an extended period. if beltran can’t go (on the DL), they will bring up someone to be the regular.
      - Metsie March 27, 2011 at 12:31 pm
        
        Problem is he mashes the ball when he is in the field too!
        
        His glove is a liability and his lack of any speed means he will never be effective trying to cover all that real estate in Citi Field.
stick March 27, 2011 at 11:59 am

I am a big Duda fan, but not too bummed he did not make the team. At least he will get plenty of practice time at AAA in the field.

The wild card is of course Beltran. The FO knows too that there is very likely to be a starting job available in RF fairly soon, so they want the top prospect contenders for the job (duda and f mart) in AAA playing every day getting ready. But, no way I want to see Hairston and/or Harris starting every day for an extended period of time. As bench guys, fine.

anyway, overall, not a bad looking team. With Beltran in there, they have the potential to be much better offensively. If nothing else, the lineup looks deeper, and the OBP and power mix should be vastly improved.

I even like the pen this year. The back end of the rotation even looks more solid.

this team should be competitive, as long as the front end of the rotation doesn’t crumble, and the key guys in the lineup reasonably play to their expected outputs. Not asking for anything radical, just a reasonable amount of health, normal production from the veterans, and holding their own from the young guys.

without Beltran they are going to need someone to step up and produce out in RF, and that will put more pressure on Bay to not suck again.
Pete March 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm

The fact that Beltran is hurt may allow them to find a spot for Evans, who would never clear waivers.
Metstheory22 March 27, 2011 at 12:47 pm

I would rather see Evans make the team since he plays multiple positions except CF, which is where Hairston comes in.
francis March 27, 2011 at 7:31 pm

going with nickeas is an abomination.

i’d rather get gregg zaun out of retirement.
scottydoesn'tknow March 28, 2011 at 10:30 am

Seriously with nickeas, I understand the need for a back up catcher, but Thole is young and probably dosen’t need to be spelled, so bascially Nickeas is only there if Thole gets injured. I say forget carrying a backup catcher on the 25 man roster. If Thole gets injured in a game, then you just forfeit that game and call some on up for the next game. Instead, carry Acosta or Misch. There is no real Long man in the pen, and it might be one of those seasons where we could use one.

If a back up catch is a must, someone please tell me why we need BOTH Hairston and Harris for backup outfielders. Or 3 2nd basemen, either dump Hairston or Hu and carry another reliever

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