Reese Kaplan -- Are More Roster Cuts Coming Via Non-Tenders?

November 17th is now less than a week away and it's time to do by ourselves what David Stearns and company have already been doing.  It is on that date that the tender/non-tender decisions need to be made.  Towards that end, the Mets have already reduced the number of 40-man roster members down to 32 but there's a strong possibility that more departures will occur.  Towards that end, let's take a look at some of the people who are on the bubble.

Daniel Vogelbach

The big man has been on the waiver wire before and has worn out his welcome with multiple clubs who realize that the negatives outweighed the positives.  Yes, he does get on base.  Yes, he does have home run power.  However, he cannot field, cannot run, cannot hit lefties and has never really won a full time role.  His best ever season was 2019 in Seattle when he hit a mere .208 but clubbed 30 home runs and drove in a paltry 76 in his 500+ plate appearances.  Since then the power has dropped, the at-bats have dropped and his usefulness has been limited to half of a DH.  As a career .233 hitter who doesn't offer much else, it would seem that the inexpensive but marginally useful player has likely donned a Mets uniform for the last time.  David Stearns has bounced him once before while in Milwaukee.  Stearns has been vocal about defensive skills so that would also count against Vogelbach, though he is also a fan of OBP which for everything else you say is a problem with the big man, he does get on base.  Still, the experiment with him in New York demonstrates why he has never been kept around very long anywhere he's played.  We'll miss his smile but not much else.

Luis Guillorme

While everyone enjoyed Guillorme's defensive exploits earlier in his career, he initially was regarded as a play only when necessary category as his bat wasn't nearly as lethal as his glove.  His offense did seem to improve over time and he's upped his career average to a respectable .261.  He never had any power and his already limited baserunning ability got worse as his weight increased.  He's missed more time than he's played the last few years as injuries mounted yet his paycheck kept getting larger.  In 2023 he had his worst output since his rookie arrival with the average down to .224 with again ample time on the IL.  What was different, however, was his defense which went from highlight reel level to embarrassing.  So, like Vogelbach, if you have a guy who can't hit as expected, can't run, can't field and can't stay healthy, why would you want to see what an arbiter would offer him as a new salary?

Relief Pitchers

If your name is not Edwin Diaz nor Brooks Raley, then your future on the Mets roster is uncertain.  Many are ready to throw in the towel on Drew Smith, but with the free agency decision made by Adam Ottavino it likely bought the more good than bad Smith based upon career numbers some extended life.  However, the rest of the relief corps had better not take out any long term leases in the New York area as the bullpen is just as vulnerable as is the starting rotation.  

Truly Borderline Cases

After seeming to come out of nowhere to write quite a story for most of 2023, D.J. Stewart finished poorly in September which didn't help his cause.  He made some interesting defensive plays but overall seemed below average defensively.  Given his bulk, his baserunning was pretty non-existent, so you have mainly his power as his calling card.  For his career he's logged 687 ABs which is a bit more than a full season and during that time he's smashed 37 homers while driving in 97 but only hit .220 and struck out a whopping 223 times.  For all the good he did for the Mets this past season he still hit just .244.  He doesn't appear to be a starting outfielder on a good team and he's a bit one dimensional to keep around as a fourth outfielder.  It wouldn't surprise me if the Mets tried to trade him away rather than take the heat for a non-tender decision.

In the "find a taker" category you also have to look at last year's projected starting catcher, Omar Narvaez. The team did eat money to rid themselves of James McCann and it may be that they will look to do something similar now that Francisco Alvarez has established himself as the starting catcher for the present and the future.  In a backup role they can seek out a glove-first catcher to take those days that Alvarez needs rest who would cost far less than the $7 million you'd be paying Narvaez for suspect defense and inconsistent offense.  His long injury last year didn't help his staying power either.  

Starting Pitchers

With David Peterson shut down for half a season, you would think that Jose Butto, Joey Lucchesi and Tylor Megill have all earned some necessary extra life.  That is unfortunately it as far as starting pitchers go with the rest of the minor leaguers not yet at the level to warrant promotion to the majors.  It is unlikely to see any of these three departing.