Reese Kaplan -- Roster Changes a Greater Concern than Yankees

As the Mets prepare to begin the Subway Series there would have been a great deal of enthusiasm for the great month the boys in blue and orange have been having while the guys in dark pinstripes have started to see some chinks in their armor.  While the standings are not what anyone would like for the Mets, the bragging rights over these games against one another at Citifield and at Yankee Stadium usually bring out the best and worst of the fans.

This time around, however, the Mets will likely be more focused on the roster merry-go-round than they are specifically addressing the crosstown rivals here to play baseball.  The whole Edwin Diaz situation leaves the roster short for the next ten games as a result of the sticky-stuff scenario.  Given an ejection of this nature, the rules state that you cannot replace that person on the roster for the duration of the suspension.  That means the Mets are playing with 25 instead of the now customary 26 players.

The question of who will take over temporarily for Diaz to finish out games is an uncertainty.  Having known Adam Ottavino from his time in the Bronx and in Queens, Carlos Mendoza may opt for the experienced veteran to handle this duty, though Ottavino has been having a somewhat on-again/off-again pattern of pitching ineffectively. 

Behind him you have Drew Smith who left the last game seemingly having some issues with his arm or hand.  Then there is the veteran Jake Diekman who could theoretically close out games as he did on Sunday with Danny Young back from Syracuse taking Sean Reid-Foley’s place and giving the club another southpaw.  

Reed Garrett was absolutely unhittable earlier in the year then seemed to fall back to earth.  His consistency is not what you’d ideally like in a closer.  Oddly, despite having given up a two-run homer, rookie Dedniel Nunez could be the best choice as he is healthy and putting up consistently nice numbers, but it’s rare a club entrusts a key position like saving games to someone unproven.

With the slate of back-to-back games coming up to the tune of 17 in a row without a day off it would not be surprising to see the club dispatch either David Peterson or Tylor Megill who both have options and replace them with a reliever to help out the soon to be stretched-thin starting crew which might see Adrian Houser moving back into the rotation in place of whomever is sent to Syracuse.  

Down there you do have Jose Butto and Christian Scott who have always been starters.  It is possible that the winner of the demotion race to Syracuse could wind up being the long man in the pen and then it opens up a promotion for one of these two arms.  Mendoza recently said Scott would be back soon. 

The other roster re-engineering that needs to be done concerns the upcoming IL stint for Starling Marte due to the bone issue in his right knee.  Everyone knows that while Tyrone Power can field and run, he’s not a great hitter.  D.J. Stewart does none of the above except the occasional long ball.  That means a reinforcement is needed from Syracuse or the waiver wire.  

It is possible that Brett Baty could come up to play 2nd base or platoon at 3rd base with Mark Vientos while Jose Iglesias stands between Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso.  This strategy would put Jeff McNeil in the outfield along with Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader which would not look bad if McNeil was hitting like the player he was in 2022 and prior.  However, his current polar dwelling at the plate suggests that they might actually get more offense out of Taylor.

If the Mets chose to bring a real outfielder up to the big club, they do have choices.  Trayce Thompson, Ben Gamel and others are providing some decent offense with these two also showing major league experience.  The problem is neither is on the 40-man roster and it would require yet another roster rework to create that space.  The word on Marte is a minimum of 15 days of rest, so it’s possible that this substitute outfielder might be needed for most of the month of July. 

Nothing’s ever easy...