Roster cuts are in full swing as the New York Mets ready for their March 28 season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. The latest round of moves, according to president of baseball operations David Stearns, consist of Jiman Choi and Mark Vientos being left off the squad. Meanwhile, Brett Baty, and in a surprise, Zack Short, have made the team.
Vientos entered spring training as the likely candidate to fulfill the Mets’ designated hitting role in the regular season. However, he only slashed .212/.241/.481 (.722 OPS) to go along with 17 strikeouts outs in 52 at-bats during spring training. Add in the fact the Mets recently signed J.D. Martinez, the cut of Vientos does not come as much of a surprise.
However, entering spring, it appeared former Detroit Tigers utility infielder Zack Short was a long shot to make the team. Short dominated in spring, posting a .303 batting average and .895 OPS while playing a plethora of different positions. The 29-year-old has a career .174 batting average across 386 at-bats but gives the Mets a lot of defensive versatility.
Elsewhere, Jiman Choi showed flashes, but ultimately only posted a .641 OPS which evidently wasn’t enough to crack the Opening Day roster. Brett Baty (.804 OPS), who came on really strong at the end of spring training, unsurprisingly, made the team and is slated to be the Mets’ everyday third baseman.
With these recent moves, one would expect DJ Stewart to get a decent run at designated hitter while potentially seeing someone like Starling Marte, with Tyrone Taylor replacing him in the field, to get looks as well. Martinez is expected to ramp up in the minor leagues before joining the Mets and factors in as the team’s everyday designated hitter once good to go.
Worth noting, Stearns did mention Stewart as the last position player to make the team, as of now. He did mentioned the possibility of adding external once other cuts around the league are finalized.
The last move, which has yet to happen, will likely be between Michael Tonkin, Sean Reid-Foley, and Yoahn Ramírez. The Mets can only carry two of those three, but currently have all three on the roster.
