With the Mets losing the Wild Card Game, the front office has the difficult task of assessing what the weaknesses on the roster were and how those spots could be improved. Each player is assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine if that player could be a valuable contributor for the 2017 season. If not, it is clear they need to be removed in some way, shape, or form for their valuable roster spot.
Unfortunately, no decision is made in a vacuum. With a team keeping one player, they then potentially put another player’s spot on the 40-man roster in jeopardy. For example, keeping one utility player makes the other utility player less valuable or needed. An additional complication is the Mets have 66 minor league players the team needs to decide if they are worthy of protection or if the Mets should risk losing that player in the Rule 5 Draft. Actually, it is 65 players as the Mets are definitely putting Amed Rosario on the 40 man roster.
At some point, with the Mets adding prospects like Rosario to the 40-man roster, eventually some players currently on the 40 are going to have to be removed to make room.
During the 2016 season, there were players like T.J. Rivera and Josh Smoker who solidified their spot on the 40 man roster. However, there are other players who have given the Mets a reason to designate them for assignment to make room on the roster for a more promising player. Here is a look at those players:
PITCHERS
Heading into the 2015 season, Edgin was supposed to be the Mets LOOGY for years to come. Those plans changed when he needed Tommy John surgery causing him to miss the entire 2015 season.
He returned in 2016, and he wasn’t the same pitcher having yet to regain his previous velocity. As a result, Edgin got hit around. In AAA, he had a 3.51 ERA and a 1.650 WHIP. In his limited stints in the majors, he had a 5.23 ERA and a 1.548 WHIP. Another complication for Edgin is he is arbitration eligible meaning the Mets are presumably going to have to pay him more to keep him on the roster.
On a positive note, Edgin still did get left-handed batters out at the major league level. In a very small sample size (20 plate appearances), lefties only hit .235 off of him with no extra base hits. It is a big reason why he was on the Wild Card Game roster when the Mets faced a San Francisco Giants team stacked with lefties. Between his ability to get lefties out, the hope his arm could improve a second year removed from surgery, and his still having options available, there is still some hope for Edgin.
Gilmartin has gone from an important bullpen arm the Mets acquired in the 2015 Rule 5 Draft to a player who is seemingly lost his ability to get batters out.
Despite Gilmartin being a valuable long man in the pen, the Mets had him start the year in AAA to become starting pitching depth. In 18 starts and one relief appearance, he was 9-7 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.425 WHIP. On a couple of occasions, he was recalled, and he pitched exclusively in relief for the Mets. Things did not go well for him in those 14 relief appearances as Gilmartin had a 7.13 ERA and a 1.585 WHIP. Between his performance and his having to go on the minor league disabled list with shoulder soreness, it was a lost year for Gilmartin.
Some of the struggles of Gilmartin were the result of his uneven usage between AAA and the majors. The other issue was his shoulder soreness, which for now, appears to no longer be an issue. Another strong factor in his favor is the fact that he is not yet arbitration eligible meaning the Mets do not have to pay him much to see if he returns to form. His having options available is also a positive. The Mets could still keep him on the roster with the idea of returning him to the role he was most successful.
There is perhaps no Mets pitcher that evokes such split opinions than Goeddel. For years, there were people who saw a pitcher that was able to go out there and get outs. There were others who saw a guy who had fringy stuff that was more the beneficiary of good luck than good pitching. After the 2016 season, most people agree that Goeddel was a liability for the Mets.
In 36 appearances for the Mets, Goeddel had a 4.54 ERA and a 1.318 WHIP. It should be noted this was a big departure from how he had previously pitched with the Mets. In 2014 and 2015, Goeddel had a combined 2.48 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP. His prior success, his pre-arbitration status, and his having options remaining, gives him a chance to remain on the 40 man roster.
In April, it would’ve have been blasphemy to suggest Henderson would have been at risk for being taken off the 40 man roster. After that fateful game against the Marlins, it no longer was the case. Henderson lost velocity on his fastball, and he went on an extended trip on the the disabled list to deal with a shoulder impingement.
Despite his hot start, Henderson finished the year with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP. If the Mets believe he can regain his April form, they could be inclined to offer him arbitration and keep him on the 40 man roster to start the year in the majors or AAA. If not, he is as good as gone.
Saying he is on the bubble is a misnomer. Montero has to be as good as gone from the 40 man roster. Entering the 2016 season, the Mets had it with him, and they sent him a message by making him one of the first people sent down to minor league Spring Training. Montero responded by pitching so poorly in Las Vegas that he was demoted to Binghamton. It was only due a rash of pitching injuries that he got a shot at pitching in the majors again, and like his other opportunities, he squandered that.
Strangely enough, the Mets had to make a decision on whether to expose Verrett to the Rule 5 Draft or to remove a player from the 40-man roster to protect him in 2015. The Mets chose the former, and lost him for a period of time. After Verrett struggled with the Rangers, the Mets took him back where Verrett pitched well out of the bullpen and the rotation for the Mets.
The Mets envisioned Verrett succeeding in that role in 2016, but it wasn’t to be. He wasn’t as effective replacing Matt Harvey in the rotation as he was in 2015. He went from a 3.63 ERA as a starter to a 6.45 ERA. He performed so poorly out of the rotation that the Mets gave Montero a chance to start over him down the stretch of the season.
Still, there was a silver lining to Verrett’s 2016 season. In his 23 relief appearances, he had a 2.84 ERA. When you consider his reliever ERA, how well he performed in 2015, his pre-arbitration status, and his having options remaining, there is still a chance for Verrett to remain.
POSITION PLAYERS
Thinking of Plawecki being on the bubble is a bit odd especially when he is only 25 years old, has shown himself to be a terrific pitch framer, and he has only had 409 plate appearances at the major league level.
The problem there is Plawecki hasn’t hit at all in those 409 plate appearances. In his brief major league career, Plawecki is a .211/.287/.285 hitter. That’s worse than what Rene Rivera could give you, and Rivera has firmly established himself as Noah Syndergaard‘s personal catcher. Worse yet, Plawecki is not the defensive catcher Rivera is.
When you also consider Tomas Nido‘s breakout season in St. Lucie possibly forcing the Mets to protect him a year earlier than anticipated, the Mets are going to be faced with the dilemma of carrying four catchers on their 40 man roster. With Nido perhaps passing him as the catcher of the future, and Travis d’Arnaud having shown he has more offensive ability than Plawecki, it is quite possible, Plawecki could find himself having run out of chances with the Mets organization.
With all that said, it is hard to believe the Mets moving on from Plawecki this soon in his career.
For years, the Mets have seemingly valued Campbell’s exit velocity, his defensive versatility, his willingness to do whatever was asked of him, and his willingness to learn different positions to make himself as versatile and useful as possible. It’s one of the reasons why he was on the Opening Day roster, and it is a reason why despite some similarly talented players having surpassed him on the depth chart, Campbell made the Wild Card Game roster.
Overall, the results just aren’t there for Campbell, and he gets worse at the plate every season. In 40 games this year, Campbell hit just .173/.284/.227. Still, with the Mets apparently holding him in higher esteem than the fans, with him still having options remaining, and with him not yet being arbitration eligible, there is still the chance he remains on the 40 man roster.
This is an interesting situation for Kelly to be in considering he was signed to be minor league depth last season. With a rash of injuries and some hot hitting in AAA, Kelly finally reached the majors after his long seven year odyssey in the minor leagues.
After some time, the Mets actually discovered who Kelly was. Despite his switch-hitting skills, he really could only hit from the right-hand side against major league pitching. He was versatile, but his best position was left field. Overall, his main asset down the stretch in September was as a pinch runner. With all the said, he did make the Wild Card Game roster, and he got a pinch hit single off Madison Bumgarner.
Basically, all the reasons you can make for him being kept on the roster or being cut from the roster are the same exact things you could say about Campbell. At this point, there is really no telling if the Mets are going to keep both, cut both, or favor one over the other.
Believe it or not, Ruggiano was a member of the 2016 Mets this past season. In fact, he would play eight games, and he would absolutely annihilate left-handed pitching. While you could easily envision a role for Ruggiano as a platoon outfielder, there are some major hurdles to him remaining on the 40 man roster.
The first is his being out of options meaning if the Mets do not envision him on the Opening Day roster, they are going to have to cut him at some point. The second and most important is the Mets are already bursting at the seams in outfield depth, and that is before you consider the fact the Mets have yet to make a decision on re-signing Yoenis Cespedes. With respect to Ruggiano, it just appears to be a numbers game, and despite what he can do against left-handed pitching, he does not seem long for the roster.
PROJECTION
At the moment, the Mets have 46 players (45 once the Jon Niese buyout becomes official) on the 40 man roster meaning there are going to be a lot of tough decisions to be made. Those decisions are made even tougher when you consider the Mets are likely going to want to add somewhere between two to five players from the minor leagues onto the 40 man roster.
The Mets also have Alejandro de Aza, James Loney, Kelly Johnson, Fernando Salas, Jerry Blevins, Bartolo Colon and Neil Walker who are pending free agents. That knocks the Mets 40-man roster down to 38 and the inevitable Yoenis Cespedes opt out puts it at 37.
Seemingly, the one player who is all but guaranteed to be removed from the roster is Montero. After Montero, Ruggiano seems to be the player most likely to be removed from the roster. The Mets have many either/or decisions, which include, but are not limited to Gilmartin or Verrett, Goeddel or Henderson, and Campbell or Kelly.
Out of all the aforementioned players, the player that seems safest is Plawecki. Still, as we have seen, even those players whose spots are seemingly the safest are all but guaranteed.
