The Mets have added outfielder Brandon Nimmo, RHP Seth Lugo, RHP Jeff Walters, and RHP Robert Gsellman to the 40-man roster.
Each will be protected from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft and automatically receive invites to major league spring training.
November 19
The Mets have until 11:59 PM on November 20th to decide which of their Rule 5 eligible players they will add to the 40-man roster to protect them from being drafted.
Last year, was a very active Rule 5 draft for the Mets as they took Sean Gilmartin out of the Minnesota Twins system and they lost Logan Verrett (briefly). They also lost Cam Maron, Greg Peavey, Juan Carlos Gamboa, and Randy Fontanez in the minor league portion.
Right now the Mets 40-man roster is sitting at 35 players after losing Jack Leathersich to the Cubs with expected movement including the possible non-tendering of Ruben Tejada. Other players with their roster spot on the line I think are Eric Campbell, Darrell Ceciliani, and possibly Carlos Torres.
In order for a player to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, they must not be on the team’s 40-man roster and they must have in the minor leagues for at least 4 years if he was signed after age 19 or in the minor leagues for at least 5 years if he was signed before age 19.
The Mets have a couple of no-brainers this year with Brandon Nimmo and Robert Gsellman. Nimmo is still one of the Mets best position player prospects and will be added. Likewise with Gsellman who is one of their top pitching prospects after a good year combined with St. Lucie and Binghamton. He went 13-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.137 WHIP in 24 starts this season.
Paul Sewald is another one that I would protect but not 100% sure the Mets feel the same way. He has been spectacular since the Mets drafted him in 10th round in 2012 pitching to a career 1.83 ERA and 0.974 WHIP. Last year he saved 24 games for Binghamton while striking out 56 batters in 51.1 innings and was an Eastern League All-Star.
To me the other guy they will add without a doubt is outfield prospect Wuilmer Becerra who came over in the R.A. Dickey trade alongside Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. Becerra hit .290/.342/.423 with 16 stolen bases while playing good defense in right field for the Savannah Sand Gnats in 2015. Despite being only 21 and have played just in low-A ball I don’t think the Mets can risk a team like the Phillies scooping him up one of their Top 10 prospects.
Next we have the group of guys that the Mets could possibly add and could possibly lose if they don’t:
- Seth Lugo– The former 34th round pick opened some eyes this year going 8-7 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.250 WHIP while leading all Mets minor league pitchers with his 127 strikeouts in 136 innings. The 26-year old right-hander made 19 starts for Binghamton and five for Las Vegas.
- Mickey Jannis– What a story for the 27-year old knuckleballer, as he started the 2015 campaign playing for the Long Island Ducks and is currently having success in the Arizona Fall League which is traditionally for teams top hitting prospects. He has a 2.88 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in the AFL which has certainly boosted his chances of being protected and being drafted.
- Beck Wheeler– Another guy who is having a strong AFL season and combine that with the strong year he had in Binghamton there is certainly a chance he gets protected. He had a 3.38 ERA and 1.227 WHIP in 58.2 AA innings while allowing only two homeruns in that span.
- Travis Taijeron– The 26-year old outfielder hit a career high 25 homeruns this season and slashed .274/.393/.536 in 394 at bats for the Las Vegas 51’s this year. However, he did strikeout 147 times in 127 games this year and has been limited to mainly just right field the last two seasons.
- T.J. Rivera– As many of you already know all the infielder does is hit, he is a career .318/.366/.418 in five Minor League seasons. So why hasn’t he got a chance? Really is a great question after the Mets continued to run Campbell and Danny Muno on the field last year. The biggest knocks on Rivera is that he doesn’t have a position he plays well defensively and the lack of power. He doesn’t have a strong enough arm for shortstop or third base limiting him to second really where the Mets are strong. He did show off some power last year boasting a .455 SLG with Binghamton and .443 with Las Vegas in 2015.
- Victor Cruzado– The former infielder finished the 2015 season with 15 at bats for the B’Mets after a strong season with St. Lucie where he hit .272/.359/.401. The 23-year old played the field 86 times last year with 83 of them being in right field. He is a solid player with his only plus attribute being his ability to get on base, has a career .375 OBP and has just 233 strikeouts compared to 177 walks.
- Zack Thornton– The right-handed reliever came over to the Mets from the Pirates in the Ike Davis trade. The 27-year old pitched to a 3.94 ERA and 1.334 WHIP as he spent the entire year in AAA with Las Vegas. Thornton is a groundball pitcher that somehow only allowed two homeruns in 61.2 innings in the Pacific Coast League last season.
- Matthew Bowman– After having a nice showing for the Mets during Spring Training, Matt really struggled this season with the 51’s going 7-16 with a 5.53 ERA and 1.679 WHIP. I still think that with his sinker and solid changeup that he can be a useful piece in someone’s bullpen.
- Jeff Walters– The right-handed reliever was thought of a guy who could help the Mets bullpen coming into spring training in 2014 before struggles at AAA and Tommy John Surgery derailed his career. He came back strong at the end of last season posting a 1.96 ERA and 1.091 WHIP while striking out 21 batters in 18.1 innings for Binghamton last year. He had a B’Mets franchise record 38 saves in 2013 and was hitting 94-95 MPH with his fastball last season.
Other notable names on the list of players that would need to be added to protect them from the draft include Binghamton catcher Xorge Carrillo, former highly touted arm Luis Mateo, and Jayce Boyd who showed he couldn’t handle the outfield. Here is the full list of all players that are Rule 5 eligible.
Last season the Mets added six players: Noah Syndergaard, Gabriel Ynoa, Cory Mazzoni, Akeel Morris, Hansel Robles, and Jack Leathersich in preparation for the Rule 5 draft.
This year I think they add five players with them being Nimmo, Sewald, Gsellman, Becerra, and Lugo. Sewald has been very good in the Minors despite not having a blazing fastball and could help Mets bullpen soon. Lugo had the best year of the other starters on the maybe list and the Mets minors starting pitching depth was depleted by mid-season trades.
I think there is a slight possibility of someone taking a guy like Taijeron who has plus power or Rivera who has shown extreme consistency with the bat. Walters, Thornton, and Wheeler could probably be a useful stash for a bad team in the backend of the bullpen. Jannis is a great story but I don’t think he has mastered the knuckleball completely yet.
For more Mets minor league coverage head over to MetsMinors.net.
