Whether or not there is a Rule V Draft this year it doesn’t make the Mets roster decisiions any easier. The next challenge won’t happen until next week but it concerns the players who do and do not have options remaining. All teams need to decide who really is going to be a part of their squad of playing personnel for the 2027 season.
First, let’s consider the definition of a minor league option and what it mans for roster decision needing to be made:
“Minor League Options allow a team to send a player from the 40-man roster to the minor leagues without exposing them to waivers.
“Players typically have three option years during their first five years of service. An option year is consumed if a player spends 20 or more days in the minors in a single season; within that year, the player can be called up and sent down an unlimited number of times.
“Once a player is out of options, they must be Designated for Assignment (DFA) and clear waivers to be sent to the minors.”
To add complication to this process are the rules concerning injured ballplayers who had been off the 40-man roster. The Mets had three such indivduals and on the second of this month returned pitchers Reed Garrett, Tylor Megill and infielder Jorge Polanco to the protected 40-
To do so it meant removing others from there. Already the Mets have outrighted to AAA Syracuse a pair of players — Cristian Pache and Eric Wagaman. In addition they have DFA’d two more in Christian Cairo and Kyren Paris.
In constructing the list of who or who is not a part o the team’s roster for the upcoming season, let’s take a look at two more lists — players who are out of options and players who can still be demoted to the minors.
On the first list the Mets started off with ten players on whom they must either trade, release or secure them for the 2027 season. They include:
- Daniel Duarte
- Ronny Mauricio
- Chayce McDermott
- Christopher Morel
- Tobias Myers
- Cristian Pache
- Cionel Pérez
- Robert Stock
- Mark Vientos
- Austin Warren
Some have already received action. Pache is not having his option picked up. Robert Stock already received a split contract which could start him either in the majors or minors but already absorbing one of the 40-man roster spots. That still leaves eight where decisions need to be made.
The ones with more major league experience could either be traded away or DFA’d. In no particular order you have Mark Vientos who has yet to establish himself as a consistent hitter after a rookie sensational output. Former Brewer Tobias Myers could be a swingman out of the pen but also was demoted durng the 2026 season given his subpar output.
Three have more teeth gnashing on the decisions. Infielder Ronny Mauricio and pitchers Daniel Duarte and Austin Warren have at times contributed quite well and other times not so much. If given DFAs thy would have takers for sure. Trades could be made but with the Winter Meetings ending today it is less likely to happen.
Then there are the remainder — Chayce McDermott, Christopher Morel and Cionel Perez. This trio are likely to be looking for new employers if indeed there is a 2027 season.
Following them are the players who have options remaining:
- Philip Abner
- Justin Hagenman
- Nate Lavender
- Nick Morabito
- Dedniel Núñez
- Jonathan Pintaro
- Dylan Ross
- Hayden Senger
- Zac Thornton
- Jack Weisenburger
- Cameron Weston
Obviously Lavender, Morabito and Thornton are players the Mets will want to retain. The next tier could include Pintaro, Weisenburger and Weston. Then comes the remainder unlikely to travel north which includes Abner, Hagenman, Nunez, Pintaro, Ross and Senger.
By the 6:00 PM November 17th deadline for these decisions quite a lot should become clearer.
5 comments:
The evening of the 17th cannot come soon enough. The decisions will be interesting.
Frankly, there is no one on your original list in this piece that jumps out to me
That would be more interested in finding out who the Mets might be able to pick up that’s unprotected from other teams. After all, the Mets farm system was not highly ranked after the graduates of 2026, even after the trade deadline pick ups.
Wouldn't it be nice that the Mets picked up someone with meat on their bones rather than someone that just failed somewhere else
When we think of the Mets as fans, we don't think of them as they have presented themselves over the past two years: looking for the pebbles rather than the rocks. There are rarely rocks to be found in the Rule 5 sweepstakes. The only issue they should be investing in is constructing their own 40 person roster, not looking at who they can pick off from someone else's scrap heap. I'd rather they not be thinking about actions at the margins at this point in time.
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