Reese Kaplan - So, Who's Left?

With the five cuts the Mets made on Monday they now stand at 35 players on the 40-man roster, ripe to add people who may have been non-tendered by other clubs.  You know what they say about garage sale shoppers – one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.  Marlon Byrd and Latroy Hawkins proved Sandy Alderson right on that count last year, so it reinforced his Dollar Tree shopping style for 2014.  

Let’s take a look at who is still a member of this group of 35 and see if we can project a role for 2014:

Pitchers

·        Vic Black – closer until Bobby Parnell is deemed healthy

·        Jacob deGrom – starter in Las Vegas

·        Josh Edgin – new life now that Atchison, Byrdak and Feliciano are gone

·        Jeurys Familia – raw but could hide in the pen in Queens

·        Dillon Gee – starter number 3

·        Gonzalez Germen – back to the bullpen after a credible 2013 season

·        Erik Goeddel – probably moving up to the Las Vegas rotation

·        Matt Harvey – posing for more nude photos, no doubt – not playing baseball

·        Steven Matz – should start in AA but may finish in Las Vegas

·        Jenrry Mejia – it all comes down to his health.  If he’s good to go, then he’s starter number 4

·        Jon Niese – Likely he’s your opening day starter and number 1 until Zack Wheeler supplants him

·        Bobby Parnell – here’s hoping 2014 is not a pain in the neck

·        Scott Rice – assuming his arm is still attached to his body after Terry Collins got through with him, he’ll be the second lefty in the pen

·        Carlos Torres – Starter number five unless/until they get someone better and then he’s back to the pen

·        Jeff Walters – joining John Church and Jack Leathersich in the Las Vegas pen

·        Zack Wheeler – Number 2 starter

Catchers

·        Travis d’Arnaud – the number one catcher unless he’s named as such by Terry Collins.  Then he’ll be replaced after a couple of bad games.

·        Juan Centeño – Number one catcher in Las Vegas

·        Anthony Recker – his power was known but his defense was a surprise.  He’ll likely be d’Arnaud’s backup on the big club

Infield

·        Ike Davis – Trade bait

·        Lucas Duda – Starting at 1B in a platoon with Satin, Lutz or Flores

·        Wilmer Flores – Trade bait if no one takes Daniel Murphy

·        Zach Lutz – Not a clue why he’s even on the roster as he’s blocked by David Wright and is turning 28

·        Daniel Murphy – He was your best hitter for the last 2 months of the season and a rare bright spot in a dismal lineup, so naturally they will want to trade him

·        Josh Satin – Platoon with Lucas Duda at 1B and subbing for David Wright if he gets injured

·        Ruben Tejada – Starting SS unless some miracle occurs

·        Wilfredo Tovar – Starting SS for Las Vegas

·        David Wright – Loving his paycheck and hating his lot in life at 3B on this team

Outfield

·        Andrew Brown – A case could be made for jettisoning him from the 40-man roster, too, but he showed good pop off the bench

·        Matt den Dekker – If he stays healthy, he could become part of a Gold Glove caliber centerfield platoon

·        Juan Lagares – As good as he is with the glove and arm, he needs to wield a reasonable bat or his role as starter will not last

·        Kirk Nieuwenhuis – He’s a head scratcher along the lines of Zach Lutz.  The difference is that Lutz can at least hit

·        Cesar Puello – He will open up in Vegas and hopefully will play Queens after the ASG once he shakes off the rust

·        Chris Young – He’s been promised 600 ABs.  Too bad he doesn’t play SS

·        Eric Young – With the departure of two infielders and Wilmer Flores likely trade bait you’ll probably see more of the NL Stolen Base Leader at 2B than in the OF

So in summary, you have no clear cut leader for 1B, the Flores/Murphy/E. Young dilemma at 2^nd, only Ruben Tejada as a possible SS, no right fielder (assuming Chris Young in left) and various question marks about pitching.  It could be a very long summer unless “the plan” includes actually, you know, improving the team.