Reese Kaplan -- Mets Offseason Roster Bullet List Week Seventeen

Mack's Mets will summarize players mentioned as possible new members of the team available via trade or free agency that have popped up in the media associated with them as a part of the 40 man roster.  These bullet points are not necessarily factual as if they were leaked from the Mets front office.  They comprise opinions, rumors and hypotheticals that various Mets beat writers and bloggers have felt necessary to put out into public notice.  Like EPA gas mileage ratings, take the news with a grain of salt.  We share but don’t necessarily endorse any of these transactions. 

The final roster spots are still not 100% carved in stone.  One such opening is for the backup catcher to support Luis Torrens’ efforts to be the day-to-day backstop in place of injured Francisco Alvarez.  The sentimental favorite has long been Hayden Senger whose defensive skills are rock solid but whose offensive abilities are going to make people wish for the bats of renowned non-sluggers like Barry Foote.  With other contenders farmed out it appears as if Senger will be the backup catcher but do expect a number of viable options to be cut loose this week who could still knock him out of his seat on the bench.  Still, Senger blasted a home run during a recent game and has a high level of familiarity with the Mets pitchers which could spell a roster spot coming his way.

While it’s understandable for Yankee fans to have deep seated resentment about the now Met Juan Soto, there are others who have suggested that the Mets decision to spend nearly all of their personnel budget on one guy.  It’s been pointed out how the club was financially unready for the injury bug that required long term substitutions not being AAAA players that sneak through at minimum wage.  As it is the writer pointed out that your opening day starter is former closer Clay Holmes who has not before been a starter and he’s backed up by the likes of Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning.  That starting rotation is mighty thin.  While others were available in transactions such as Jordan Montgomery, Dylan Cease and Sonny Gray, the Mets were adamant about not pushing payroll any higher.  As a result while you still have the offensive trio of All Stars Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, you’re banking very heavily on Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty and the platoon DH duo to provide rock solid offensive performance while you await the returns of Francisco Alvarez, Jeff McNeil, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.

The other news that came out this week was Juan Soto discussing his initial ranking of the Yankees as the primary contender for his free agent services but how the family-friendly approach taken by Steve Cohen and the Mets organization made a huge impression.  He was also impressed by the steps the team is taking to reinforce the skills training in the minors to ensure solid contending rosters moving forward.  He didn’t see as much of either of these attributes in the Bronx though he did say the much ballyhooed security incident with his chef was not a factor at all.  He did say he resented not having a family suite to allow his loved ones to sit together to enjoy the games, but that was a club policy by the Yankees which the Mets did not embrace.  He has his family suite at Citifield.

Starling Marte has hit a bit better than anticipated and his share of DH duties should give time for his knee to return to a reasonable facsimile of health.  He’s been vocal about doing whatever is needed of him, whether it’s being the right handed half of the DH platoon, substituting in the outfield when needed or mentoring younger players who could benefit from his long major league career. 

Similarly, Brandon Nimmo has had a short but successful spring training while working through his knee issue and his plantar fasciitis.  He is still expected to be the left fielder but until he’s showing he has no limitation on running and playing the field you may see he and Jesse Winker switching roles to mitigate the risk to Nimmo’s recovery. 

There is no shortage of media copy about the phenomenal performance of unexpected number one starting pitcher, Clay Holmes.  For the entire spring his ERA is an eye popping 0.93.  Injuries or not, that type of dominance looks as if it would have been a contender for game number one.  His control has been good and his hard hit rate has been pretty amazingly low.  No one knows how long his arm will hold out with the much higher number of innings expected of him, but at the same time people aren’t looking for complete games in March, April or May either.  Right now as free agent signings go, he’s the pitching side equivalent of what they’ve gotten from their right fielder.

It seems as if you can’t open any Mets media without yet another proclamation about the offensive exploits of Brett Baty in Florida.  His OPS is not a commendable .800.  It’s a mind bending 1.123.  As a result of this hitting performance it would appear the Mets are willing to withstand whatever he can do defensively at second base while covering for the injured Jeff McNeil figuring his hitting should compensate for some perhaps subpar glove work.  For now people are divided into two camps.  Some believe what he’s doing is showing the type of player he can be whle others are long cynical types who know he’s had hot springs in the past but he left his bat in Port St. Lucie.  For now it is going to be an interesting and unexpected start to the Mets infield and lineup.

A few pitchers not expected to be a key part of the Mets 2025 season got the news they had hoped to hear.  We’ve already mentioned that Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning not only made the team going north but are the two arms being tasked to make the team competitive until Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas rejoin the club.  Paul Blackburn who was presumed to be a starter if healthy enough instead has been pushed into long man duties in the pen. 

On the bullpen side, pretty much it was a given that Jose Butto and Reed Garrett would be part of the initial 26 men flying north.  Getting the official announcement was not unexpected.  One name no one was sure about was southpaw Danny Young.  His presence is less about his ability than it is about the health of A.J. Minter and Dedniel Nunez (who himself has already been ticketed to Syracuse to continue healing).  It would appear that Max Kranick may have made the bullpen as well, though traditional reliever Huascar Brazoban also has a sub 2.00 ERA this spring.  The official final roster announcements have not yet been proclaimed.

The Jeff McNeil injury is a bit more severe than originally thought.  As a result they’re talking about perhaps as long as the entire month of April without the former batting champion while Brett Baty and/or Luisangel Acuna cover for him. 

It’s been announced that as Kodai Senga makes his way back into every 5th day starting pitcher duties he’s going to be on a rather strict pitch count so as to assure he isn’t overdoing it or causing extra strain too soon in the 2025 season.  Given how thin the starting rotation is, this cautious approach makes sense. 

On former Mets, Mike Vasil was put on waivers by the Rays and the ChiSox have made a claim in the hopes he can improve over what he’s demonstrated thus far in his pro career.  On the other end of the spectrum, Adam Ottavino is closing in on the end of his career but it won’t be in Boston.  The BoSox informed the reliever with an ERA over 10.00 he was being cut loose.  Oh yeah, the OMG guy has made the opening day roster for the San Diego Padres.  For $3 million in salary the Friars have Jose Iglesias as their backup infielder and pinch hitter.

Everyone heard the tragic news about the teenage some of Brett Gardner passing away on a trip.  Manager Carlos Mendoza played alongside Gardner in the minors and knew his son.  As such, he has done what he could to support the Gardner family during this unexpected loss.

One player many would like to see get a trial run with the big club is Alexander Canario who has real world home run power as demonstrated by his 3 hit day including a grand slam and another homer just recently.  Unfortunately, the Mets outfield with injuries is still fairly crowded and it’s unlikely they have room for him to come north even though he is out of options. 

Another name not coming north is Ronny Mauricio.  The official word is that he is deemed fully healthy but he’s far behind the normal strain of a day-to-day training regimen.  He is going to stay in the warmer Florida weather to begin back-to-back playing days on the field for awhile before making his way up to chilly Syracuse probably towards the end of April.  At that point the Mets will need to reevaluate the middle infield with Jeff McNeil projected to be back, both Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuna having shown what they can do for over 4 weeks of major league play and then Mauricio making himself known for his power and speed as well as defensive versatility.  

As spring training for 2025 concludes, so too does our weekly summary of tidbits of information from around the media you may have missed as it relates to current players, former players and roster transactions.  It’s been a bit of an effort putting together this summary, but once a process was developed it became a fun way to stay on top of things Mets-related.  I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it for you.