Reese Kaplan -- Not a Lot of Roster Help Waiting in Syracuse

A great many writers and friends focus more on the minor leagues than they do what’s happening right now with the Mets in the majors.  The interest is understandable as what’s happening in the NL East is present day reality whereas what is going on in the lower levels could constitute a change in course in the future.  Taking a brief look at AAA for help for the current big club does not fill you with a bunch of warm and fuzzy feelings.

Pitching

The first big name to consider is rehabbing starting pitcher who had been slated for the bullpen in Paul Blackburn.  A 31 year old veteran, he arrived mid season in 2024 in a trade no one particularly favored and then went down with injury.  His 2025 has been a story of rehab for his health and he’s working his way back up to decision time.  His numbers in the minors are slightly better than his major league record as a 4.85 ERA pitcher who doesn’t strike out very many but conversely doesn’t hand out too many free passes.  His aggregate rehab shows an ERA a full run better than what he’s done in the majors for his career since he began it back in 2017, but as fans and media both know there’s currently no room at the Citifield inn.  The starting rotation with rare exception has been stellar, so that would make Blackburn bullpen fodder or an as yet unused 6th starter strategy.  Still it would mean someone not stinking up the joint would need to be cut loose to make room.

The next name fans learned to regard in 2024 with great confidence was the little known Dedniel Nunez.  The 28 year old right hander delivered nearly a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio in 2024 and his major league ERA of just 2.31 was something that came out of nowhere compared to the rest of his career.  Injuries cut his season short and he got a late start in 2025 as rehab continued.  His somewhat premature promotion back to the Mets was met with ugly numbers and now he’s returned to Syracuse.  The ERA has come down considerably to the mid 3 range but the batting average against is a scary .306.  It would seem between health and command he’s not exactly at the top of the list for help in the short term.

Up next on the farm is big right hander Blade Tidwell who in his last start was throwing gas, leaving the game having held a multi inning no-hit status until his teammate Nunez allowed three runs to score in relief.  Still, the 11 strikeouts caught everyone’s eyes (but then so did the 4 walks).  For the year Tidwell has his ERA down to a tick under 4.00 and at age 23 it may be he’s a bit of a late bloomer but for now there doesn’t appear to be a 2025 role in Queens for him.

Next come the guys on the 40-man roster who are either long term minor leaguers, fringe major leaguersor whose age indicates they are at best fillers for others in the short term.  This group would include the one-time promoted Ty Adcock who is still sporting a Syracuse ERA of 3.18 with a BAA of .164 and a WHIP of 0.88.  Teammate Chris Devenski is pitching to a 1.96 ERA with a BAA of .164 and a WHIP of 0.76.  Finally there’s Austin Warren, a 29 year old righty whose ERA is a commendable 2.29, but whose BAA is higher at .233 and whose WHIP is getting ugly at 1.42.  None of this trio would seem to be more than injury fill-in material as they are already on the 40-man roster.

Hitting

This list is unfortunately just a single batter, Ronny Mauricio.  None of the rest of the Syracuse Mets other than backup catcher Hayden Senger are on the 40-man roster right now so the former top prospect is likely the next offensive guy to get the call from David Stearns.  For his long rehab people wondered how well Mauricio would do when returning to regular play.  He started off gradually as a DH but now is taking the field and what he’s delivering is certainly turning heads.  Granted, his aggregate 2025 numbers reflect about 1/10 of a playing season with just 57 ABs, but it’s hard to ignore a .316 batting average with 3 HRs, 10 RBIs and 5 SBs.  Extrapolate these numbers for the switch hitter and that’s a full season 30 dingers, 100 RBIs and 50 thefts.  Yes, it’s pretty easy to see why many people are salivating over a Mauricio promotion.  The problem here is three-fold.  First, the club needs to be 100% certain of the man’s health.  The 5 SBs would suggest his knee is likely in good shape.  Second, there is the question of defense.  He’s been primarily a shortstop but Francisco Lindor is in his way.  His other roles would include 2nd base or 3rd base.  Right now it would appear that if the plan is to let Brett Baty play himself into or out of regular at-bats, Mark Vientos’ strong 2024 and weak 2025, veteran Jeff McNeil’s history and Luisangel Acuna’s slumping numbers it’s fairly crowded already.  The third issue is who to take off the roster to make room.  It’s a nice set of problems to have regarding Mauricio, but he’s not going to singlehandedly transform the club’s offense from woeful to wonderful.