The New York Mets bolstered their bullpen on Friday by re-signing both Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas. The two signings though also create two spots that will need to be freed up on the 40-man roster. Who will be the casualties of these moves?
Once a prized prospect of the organization, he has had quite the fall from grace over the last few years. Montero has not had much success at all in the majors, pitching to a 1-5 record with an ERA of 5.15 in 24 appearances, 12 of which were starts. Montero seems to be a near lock of being a roster casualty due to the recent signings.
The team’s left-handed reliever returned to the big leagues in 2016 after fully recovering from Tommy John surgery that was performed in March of 2015. Edgin struggled in his time with the Mets this past season, pitching to a 5.23 ERA in 16 appearances. Overall though in his career he has not been too bad, pitching to a 3.42 ERA to go along with a WHIP of 1.17. It may just end up being a numbers game for the 30-year-old in being let loose from the 40-man roster.
It is no secret that Terry Collins loves Ty Kelly, so this may be hard to believe. The Mets though could possibly let him go with two spots needed on the 40-man roster. Kelly had a so-so 2016, his first with the big league club, hitting to a .241/.352/.345 batting line with 1 homer and 7 RBI in 39 games. The team also will have a glut of position players this upcoming season with versatility, possibly making Kelly a casualty.
After a stellar 2015 season, the lefty struggled mightily this past year. He pitched to a 7.13 ERA with a WHIP of 1.58 while appearing in 14 games. The prior year though had him appear in 50 games while pitching to a 2.67 ERA and a WHIP of 1.19. He also has the ability to be a good long man for the team, a spot now that we may see Seth Lugo pick up in 2017. Probably the least likely of the four listed to be moved off the roster, but still a player they may look at due to it again being a numbers game.
Of course there is also the possibility of Sandy Alderson swinging a trade to clear some space off the roster. There had been rumblings that Juan Lagares was drawing interest as of late. I am also sure no one has forgotten that the Mets have been attempting to trade Jay Bruce for the last century. A trade could be a possibility, but probably less likely at this point.
Should note that the only one of these four players that is out of options is Edgin.
It will be interesting to see how the team adjusts their roster once the signings are “official.” Who do you believe the Mets will let go due to signings of Blevins and Salas?
