As we muddle through the dog depressing days of September it's time for a new segment here on Mack's Mets. We're going to review each member of the 40 man roster on a case by case basis and define whether they should be on the 2014 Mets or not. We will also include AAA and AA minor leaguers who are eligible for Minor League Free Agency this off-season.
We did the first half of the starting rotation yesterday so lets finish up.
Members This Season
Matt Harvey
Zack Wheeler
Jonathan Niese
Dillon Gee
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Aaron Harang
Carlos Torres
Jeremy Hefner
Jenrry Mejia
Hansel Robles
Johan Santana
Giancarlo Alvarado
Carlos Torres- Keep Him... in the Bullpen
Torres has been huge for the organization this season as a flex option for the rotation and a long man in the bullpen. As a starter he has been an effective #5 starter which is still pretty mediocre. He only averages 5 1/3 IP per start and has only turned in "quality starts" in half of his games. However as a reliever, Torres has been top notch with an Inherited Runner score rate of only 20%. Half of his relief appearances have also been of the "high leverage" pressure situations. Combine that with team control thru the 2017 season and you have at least 1 piece of your 2014 bullpen.
Jeremy Hefner- Keep Him... on the 60 Day DL
Hefner was pitching so well before he was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. From June 4th thru his July 12th Hefner never gave up more than 2 Earned Runs but only earned victories in 3 of the 8 starts. Unfortunately his injury will keep him out most of, if not, the entire 2014 season. He's under team control until the end of the 2018 season and will not be arbitration eligible until the end of the 2015 season so there's no harm in stashing him on the 60 Day Disabled List for 2014 and giving him a shot in 2015. Now whether its in the rotation or the bullpen is to be determined. More than likely he'll be forced out of the rotation and into the bullpen by the club's younger arms.
Jenrry Mejia- Keep Him
Ohh Mejia....The ticking time bomb that he made us aware of held out just long enough to tease us into seeing just how dominant he could be. Alderson may have not stated his name amongst possible 2014 rotation members, but, after his 5 game stint where he posted a 2.30 ERA and a 8.9 K/9 rate, I just don't know how you don't give him a chance in Spring Training. For the first time in a while Mejia should report to camp HEALTHY and ready to contribute to the cause.
Hansel Robles- Keep Him
We all scratched our heads when the team added him to the 40 man roster last off-season and sure enough Robles wasn't very effective this season. Despite posting a 3.72 ERA in Port St. Lucie, his K rate fell and his HR, BB, and H/9 inning rates all jumped. There were also grumblings about his velocity being down a few ticks this season. As much as I want to designate him for assignment you just can't right now as a team will more than likely jump on the chance to claim him and hide him on their respective 40 man roster without the Rule 5 restrictions. Robles received an assignment to the Arizona Fall League so I still think he gets his chance in AA next season but it is going to be a crucial year for him as he is down to 2 minor league options left.
Johan Santana- Dump Him
The team is not going activate their club option to bring Santana back at $25.5MM for 2014. They'll give him his $5.5MM buyout and use the $20MM saved on an OF like Choo, Ellsbury, or Pence. As for a 2014 reunion at a cheaper deal......Still probably not going to happen.
Giancarlo Alvarado- Keep Him... in AAA
Here's an interesting name. The former Mexican League and Japanese League pitcher has been pretty good for the Las Vegas 51's this season going 5-4 with a 3.49 ERA. Is he MLB quality? Probably not. But Vegas needs 5 pitchers and so far only Montero, Syndergaard, Gorski, and DeGrom are locks for that level. So why not, put an old vet with the young guys. At the very least he'll keep them entertained with "back in my day" stories and tales of facing Lastings Milledge in Japan.
3 comments:
Hey if you have a part 2, link to part 1 at the top!
LOL....I figured someone was going to say something. Was actually thinking about it this morning.
It has been updated.
I have Mazzoni at Las Vegas next year to fill out the 5, but as well as know some veterans will be signed as insurance for the big league roster. I think w heave plenty of insurance with what we have but we'll see.
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