I woke up to three emails this morning, all asking me why the Mets failed to protect outfield prospect Wuilmer Becerra from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft in December. The Mets instead chose to add outfielder Brandon Nimmo and right-handers Seth Lugo, Jeff Walters, and Robert Gsellman to the 40-man roster.
Becerra, 21, was the third prospect the Mets received from the Toronto Blue Jays in the R.A. Dickey trade that also garnered Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. He is currently the Mets’ No. 12 ranked prospect by MLB.com, No. 10 by Baseball America, and in our MMO Midseason Update we had the promising youngster at No. 8.
All Becerra did in 2015 was show why scouts love him so much and how he could emerge at the organization’s top prospect as soon as 2016. Blessed with a powerful throwing arm, the right fielder batted .290 last season with a .342 on-base percentage and .423 slugging while playing at the cavernous Grayson Stadium – the toughest hitting environment in minor league baseball.
In 118 games for Single-A Savannah, Becerra stroked 27 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, scoring 67 runs, driving in 68 and stealing 16 bases. By all accounts it was his breakthrough season as a pro.
As I mentioned a few times in the threads last night, the Mets are gambling that no team would scoop Becerra up in the Rule 5 Draft for $50,000 given his age and that he’s still at least a year away.
Any team that selects Becerra must keep him on their major league 25-man roster for the entire season or sell him back to the Mets for $25,000. An unlikely prospect from the Mets point of view.
It’s a risky play for the Mets, for sure, but they obviously don’t see any team snatching him up under the current rules.
But what if a bad team like Phillies, Reds or Marlins just bit the bullet and decided Becerra’s future was so bright. that it would be worth stashing him on the 25 for the season while giving the future slugger some on-the-job-training in the major leagues? It’s possible.
After considering the matter overnight, I’m left asking myself why even take the risk? Especially when you could have given him Eric Campbell‘s spot on the 40 man roster or Johnny Monell for crying out loud? I think that’s the part that makes the least amount of sense to me – that Campbell is on the 40 and Becerra isn’t. That’s the part I can’t wrap my brain around.
