Reese Kaplan -- WBC Participation for Fringe Players is Puzzling

During this WBC period the Mets have 16 players from the majors and minors departing Port St. Lucie for the annual exhibition of professional baseball players.  Some will be missed but the departure is not in any way a real deficit nor impact on their place on the roster.  This group would included starting pitchers Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes.  Everyone knows their roles are secure and extra innings of work are welcome whether in Florida or elsewhere.

Then there is the primary offensive player.  Newly crowned left fielder Juan Soto is off to swing his bat for the Dominican Republic.  He’s another one who is likely going to bat 3rd or 4th every day as long as he is healthy.

Where it becomes much more interesting are the borderline players who need to play their way onto the squad flying north to Citifield when Spring Training ends.  This group really needs to make a strong impression on David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza to fortify their 2026 role for the club.  Being out of town for quite awhile is not likely going to help in that regard.

The first big name in this group is forgotten man Mark Vientos playing for Nicaragua.  We all know that the combination of Jorge Polanco and Brett Baty are squeezing him out of both the first base and DH roles.  Leaving to play in these exhibition games will result in video and box scores but it’s never quite the same as seeing the accomplishments in American games in Spring Training.  It is almost as if he is saying, “Well, they have no use for me so I might as well try to entice another team into taking a flyer of me.”

In the bullpen you have the same situation with reliever Huascar Brazoban who is a teammate of Juan Soto for the DR.  Brazoban has been up and down for the Mets after being mostly up for the Marlins when he was acquired.  Some have him already penciled in as part of an eight-man bullpen while others have him on the outside looking in.  Given his not solid standing it seems ill advised for Brazoban to flex his patriotic muscles for the Dominican Republic rather than doing his best to make the Opening Day roster.

Another player on the bubble is outfielder Jared Young.  He’s very much on the bubble, probably more on the minor league side than a major league roster spot.  A minor leaguer with a career .274 batting average with power and a Korean baseball veteran with a .297 average suggests there is some offensive ability there.  His major league experience has been far less impressive, having spent parts of three seasons over the course of 105 ABs with 6 HRs which projects to 30 HR power.  That’s good.  What’s not good is his .200 career major league batting average.  He’s another one who likely shot himself in the foot by going to play for Team Canada.

There are a few other notable names on the WBC squads including future hitter and base stealer Nick Morabito, but he and the others are not likely on the direct path to the majors in 2026. 

For now the best the Mets can hope about WBC participation is that the players who opted to go remain healthy and get significant amounts of productive playing time.  No one wants a sequel to the Edwin Diaz 2023 season.