Mets September 40 man roster options and thoughts

This September the Mets’ active roster will expand one last time to 40 men.  Traditionally, the 15 extra players come from the current 40-man roster.  However, unless they activate players currently on the IL, the Mets will only be calling up the 11 healthy pitchers currently on the roster to make a 24-man bullpen.  

To make room for position players like a third catcher, an extra outfielder, an extra bat off the bench, and perhaps others, some of the 11 pitchers will need to be put on waivers to clear room. 

Who are these 11 pitchers?  

Tyler Bashlor, Chris Flexen, Chris Mazza, Eric Hanhold, Donnie Hart, Walker Lockett, Stephen Nogosek, Corey Oswalt, Tim Peterson, Brooks Pounders, and Daniel Zamora. 

We all have ones that we would take off and players in the minors we think should be added (Ruben Tejada, Raji Davis, etc.)  But this is not an easy decision.  Not only do the Mets need to focus on players that can help them win this September, they need to also keep in mind players that may need to be added to the 40-man roster or else risk losing them in the Rule 5 draft in December.  

I know, first things first, let’s try to win now.  However, there are some current non-roster players that can help the Mets this September that may need to be added to the 40-man roster after the season anyway.  Why not give them a look now? 

Looking at those two goals, win now and the potential rule 5 issue, here are the players I recommend calling up this September: 

Catcher: I think they should add two catchers Rene Rivera and Patrick Mazeika.  Rene Rivera, traditionally a good defender, has been having an outstanding offensive season with 23 Homers and 69 RBI’s in AAA.  He would provide a good right handed bat off the bench and provide depth at catcher.  

At the end of the year, he will be a free agent and provide a roster spot for the players on the IL that the Mets will want to keep.  Mazeika is a left handed hitting catcher that also plays first base so Binghamton can keep his bat in the lineup.  He has been a clutch hitter all season as he is third in the league with 62 RBI’s.  He also 14 homers with a walk off three run homer and a walk off grand slam.  

If the Mets don’t add him to their roster, he will surely be lost in the rule 5 draft.  He can help now and can help in the future, so why not give him a chance this September?  

I also think Ali Sanchez will be lost in the rule 5 draft as well unless he is added to the roster, but I would call up Rivera for his right handed bat for the win now goal due to his great season this year.

Infield: I would look at Arismendy Alcantara.  A switch hitter who can play the infield and the outfield, Arismendy is hitting .302 for the year with 10 homers, 41 RBI’s and 9 stolen bases.  He also has hit .302 in the last ten games. 

Outfield: Rajai Davis would get the call if it was up to me.  An experienced major league hitter who can come off the bench, homer or steal a base as needed.  He leads Syracuse with 19 steals this year hitting .280, 7 homers and 23 RBI’s. 

Pitching: I would look to call up Matt Blackham who has done very well since his call up from AA with a 1.08 ERA in 6 games and 8.1 innings.  Another potential Rule 5 Draft target, I think we should see if his success can translate to the majors.  

I would also bring back already on the roster pitchers Daniel Zamora, who had great success last year as a lefty specialist, recently optioned Chris Mazza, Eric Hanhold (hot and cold so far this year in both Binghamton and Cuse), and recently acquired lefty Donnie Hart.  That would still give the Mets an insane number of pitchers at 18 but hopefully some of these will help solve the bullpen issue. 

That’s a total of 9 extra players added to the current roster.  This would allow for players that may come off the IL to also be added or additional moves as needed.

These roster moves would not be easy as 5 of the current AAA pitchers on the roster would have to be placed on waivers.  This will need to happen in the winter anyway.  Why not do it now, for the pennant race and the future.