With the New York Mets now at 96.8 percent odds to make the postseason, me and a couple of my co-writers decided to have a little exercise and speculate what the Mets postseason roster would look like.
Please keep in mind that we are assuming all players are healthy and that we completed this five days ago so some dynamics may have changed. Enjoy…
Brian Mangan
My roster has 14 position players and 11 pitchers, as I chose to include Eric Young Jr. over another reliever. My likely most controversial move is putting Noah Syndergaard in the bullpen, where I think he can be a dominant bridge to Familia in a short series.
Infielders
- Lucas Duda
- Wilmer Flores
- Daniel Murphy
- Ruben Tejada
- Juan Uribe
- David Wright
This is the standard infield roster. Wright, Murphy, and Duda will start every game against righties, with Flores splitting time with Tejada at shortstop and Murphy at second base. Flores should start over Murphy against lefties thanks to Murphy’s paltry .583 OPS against left-handed pitching this year.
Outfielders
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Juan Lagares
- Curtis Granderson
- Michael Conforto
- Michael Cuddyer
- Eric Young, Jr.
Conforto, Cespedes and Granderson against righties, while Cuddyer and Lagares should start against lefties. Cespedes (643 OPS) and Granderson (478 OPS) have both struggled badly against left-handed pitching this year.
Catchers
- Travis d’Arnaud
- Kevin Plawecki
Starters
- Jacob deGrom
- Matt Harvey
- Steven Matz
- Jon Niese or Bartolo Colon
This is the most difficult part of this exercise but, provided he has a strong September, I am going to put my faith in Steven Matz as my #3 behind deGrom and Harvey. Noah Syndergaard is in uncharted territory right now when it comes to innings, and he has struggled in August because of it (4.79 ERA in August).
I still think that Syndergaard could be an effective starter in the playoffs, but he would be just as useful in the bullpen in a short series as a dominant 6th and 7th inning bridge to Clippard and Familia. Colon should make the roster over Niese as the fourth starter if the opposition is very right-handed (693 OPS against RHB in his career), or vice versa (Niese has a superior 716 OPS against LHB in his career).
Relievers
- Jeurys Familia
- Tyler Clippard
- Noah Syndergaard
- Addison Reed
- Sean Gilmartin
- Erik Goeddel
- Hansel Robles
This is an excellent bullpen, which should be used in concert with the handy-dandy chart I made for Terry Collins last week.
Notable Cuts: Kelly Johnson, Eric Campbell, Kirk Nieuwenhuis
This team has four excellent left-handed bats and a deep and diverse bench. It’ll also have several lights-out relief options plus, if Syndergaard emerges as a weapon, the Mets could then use Clippard to face opposing lefties late in games (343 OPS against).
Michael Mayer
Infielders
- Lucas Duda
- Wilmer Flores
- Kelly Johnson
- Daniel Murphy
- Ruben Tejada
- Juan Uribe
- David Wright
Outfielders
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Juan Lagares
- Curtis Granderson
- Michael Conforto
- Michael Cuddyer
Catchers
- Travis d’Arnaud
- Kevin Plawecki
Starters
- Jacob deGrom
- Matt Harvey
- Steven Matz
- Jon Niese
Relievers
- Jeurys Famila
- Tyler Clippard
- Hansel Robles
- Sean Gilmartin
- Dario Alvarez
- Addison Reed
- Noah Syndergaard
Very possible that Matz and Thor could be switched but I don’t see the Mets leaving either off the roster in favor of Colon. Tough spot for Colon who definitely won’t start but could come out of bullpen if Reed/Robles struggle down stretch.
Notable Cuts: Bartolo Colon, Eric Young Jr., Eric Campbell, Kirk Nieuwenhuis
I think its possible that either Kirk or EY could make the roster if they decide to carry only 10 pitchers.
Alvarez is obviously the wild card here but he shuts down lefties and Mets don’t currently have a loogy.
Thor I think is in the bullpen more because of limiting his innings than anything else.
Joe D.
This exercise was not as easy as you might think. I also went with the extra position player and went with 11 pitchers.
Infielders
- Lucas Duda
- Wilmer Flores
- Daniel Murphy
- Ruben Tejada
- Juan Uribe
- David Wright
I love our infielders, there’s so much flexibility to work with. I decided to carry Uribe because he really does keep everyone in the clubhouse loose. But he also provides the occasional clutch hit and he’s the kind of guy that shines in the postseason. There’s always a guy like that who just turns it on and makes an impact.
Outfielders
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Juan Lagares
- Curtis Granderson
- Michael Conforto
- Michael Cuddyer
- Kelly Johnson
I truly agonized over whether or not I should include Eric Young Jr. or Kelly Johnson. In the end I went with Johnson because he provides a lot more flexibility between playing in the infield and the outfield, and all this guy does is produce whenever Terry Collins calls his number. Yes, Young gives you speed, but you know what the Mets have gotten this far without any speed. That was my deciding factor.
Catchers
- Travis d’Arnaud
- Kevin Plawecki
No-brainer here, but Anthony Recker doesn’t squeeze out Plawecki on my roster. Plus Plawecki is the future and I want him to have the experience of playing in the postseason. It only helps the Mets in the long-term.
Starters
- Jacob deGrom
- Matt Harvey
- Steven Matz
- Bartolo Colon
This part was a killer and in the end I gave Jon Niese the boot. I had to. I trust Bartolo Colon a lot more than I trust Niese right now and I’m not throwing the most experienced veteran starting pitcher we have in the bullpen.
For now I will assume that Matt Harvey will pitch in every round of the postseason for as far as the Mets will go. DeGrom is money in the bank, and based on comments Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson have made regarding Matz, there’s no chance he goes into the bullpen and I doubt he gets left off unless he crashes and burns down the stretch and I don’t see that happening.
Relievers
- Jeurys Familia
- Tyler Clippard
- Noah Syndergaard
- Addison Reed
- Sean Gilmartin
- Dario Alvarez
- Hansel Robles
Noah Syndergaard will be just fine making a few appearances out of the bullpen. Believe me, he won’t mind one bit as long as he’s on this roster. And I have a hunch he can be as devastating a weapon out of the bullpen as Sid Fernandez was in 1986.
I really wanted the extra left-hander so Dario Alvarez makes my team over Erik Goeddel. I think Alvarez has filthy stuff and left-handed hitters cannot touch his slider.
Notable Cuts: Eric Young Jr, Eric Campbell, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Anthony Recker, Jon Niese, Erik Goeddel, Carlos Torres
