The July trade deadline has passed, and the August trade deadline is approaching. It’s possible that the Mets will be able to move Devin Mesoraco or Jose Bautista before August 31, but the return will not be for anyone to get excited about.
At this point, perhaps all that’s left to look forward to in 2018 is the September 1 roster expansion, and who the Mets will add to the big club.
It’s important to first note that the Mets cannot simply call up whoever they want from Las Vegas or Binghamton. Any player the Mets promote must already be on the 40-man roster, or added to the 40-man roster. The Mets will likely recall two or three pitchers – perhaps a starter and two relievers – but there are only five position players on the 40-man roster that aren’t already in Queens.
The calls for Peter Alonso continue to resonate, but he is not on the 40-man roster and so a recall is not as automatic as it may seem. Realistically, unless Mesoraco or Bautista is traded, the Mets only have room to create two new spaces – one by placing Philip Evans on the 60-day disabled list, and the other by releasing Jack Reinheimer.
I’ll preface this by saying that I trust a scout’s eye more than a Baseball Reference page, but from my limited vantage point Reinheimer certainly appears to be expendable. The Mets have plenty of light-hitting utility infielders in the organization who can pick it at second base, third base and shortstop well enough to be a backup in Queens in 2019.
Jose Reyes is still on the roster – and if the Mets have stuck with him this long, you can bet that he’ll be here until the end of the season. Luis Guillorme looks like he’ll be in Queens for the rest of 2018 as well (update: optioned to Las Vegas), now that Asdrubal Cabrera has been traded. Gavin Cecchini is already on the 40-man roster, but he isn’t an obvious upgrade over Guillorme.
It’s hard to see how Reinheimer fits in this organization, given that his skill set is being replicated by Guillorme and Cecchini. I have to wonder if the Mets actually intend to recall him in September to see if he can leapfrog those guys on the utility infielder depth chart (update: promoted this week).
If indeed Reinheimer takes the roster spot currently inhabited by Evans, it would seem that Mesoraco or Bautista would have to be traded or released to clear space for Alonso. Of course, the Mets will likely want to carry three catchers in September, so the Mesoraco spot is more likely to be filled by Jose Lobaton or Johnny Monell to achieve that purpose.
Presumably Jay Bruce will be among the position player recalls; it makes zero sense to recall him before the roster expansion given that he has been out of action since mid-June and would benefit from a lengthy rehab stint. You can expect to see him back in a Mets uniform on September 1.
Dominic Smith will likely be recalled as well. Wilmer Flores has done a fine job at first base, but everyone knows that Flores is not the future at this position. Smith probably isn’t the future either, but the Mets haven’t finished completely destroying his trade value yet and can be counted on to use the month of September to find new ways to make Smith untradeable. Perhaps Smith can play once a week in left field exclusively against the best left-handed starters in the National League to achieve that end.
Bruce and Smith would join Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Austin Jackson in the outfield, which would then make Bautista expendable and open up a roster spot for Alonso. At this point, it may Alonso’s only path forward in 2018.
I think the 40 man roster rule is outdated when teams these days use so many more players during the course of a season. As I noted the other day, the 1969 Mets used 35; the 2018 Mets, so far, have already used 53. Given the higher velocity, I would, if I were baseball, push it up to 42-45.
ReplyDeleteNot doing so gives a team like the Mets the opportunity to sit on their hands with Peter Alonso and use the "no room on the 40 man roster excuse" in holding him back.
I personally look forward with great eagerness to the return of impact minor leaguer and 40 man roster resident Dominic Smith.
Well done, Jack.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing working against Alonso (this year anyway) is his salary arbitration clock. If the Mets keep him in AAA until late Spring next year, I think they gain a year of control and save some money (with this ownership group, that comes first).
The Mets are also doing a poor job of 40-man roster management when there are more pitchers than position players overall, and such a discrepancy between pitchers and position players among the 15 men not with the big club.
ReplyDeleteJack, that is true. So many pitchers used this year and last. Pitchers are rotated constantly.
ReplyDeleteTrying to come up with the Jack Reinheimer rationale and the best I can do is that he provides speed -- something Guillorme did not. Since Guillorme was in Callaway's doghouse and never played, it made sense for him to get regular ABs. Reinheimer is now in the Matt Reynolds role...around just in case. Of course, that's Jose Reyes' role, too.
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