The Mets have some decisions to make about who might join the club when rosters expand on Sunday, September 1st. Long gone are the days of bloated September rosters, where teams could fortify their bullpens by adding a dozen arms just because the limit was 40 players and, hell, why not? But now, with the rosters going from 26 to 28 men, and with the caveat that you cannot roster more than 14 pitchers, the options are trickier.
Looking at the offensive side of the picture first, the obvious call-up candidate was Brett Baty, who has been hitting the ball well in Triple-A, has big league experience, and would add some potential power to the bench. However, after a hit by pitch led to a stint on the IL, Baty likely won’t be available for all of September.
Aside from Baty, the most likely option appears to be DJ Stewart, who wouldn’t have a very different role on the roster than Baty would, aside from having even less defensive value than Baty would’ve. Stewart is on the 40-Man Roster, so that’s an easy move to make.
If the Mets will be culling from the Syracuse roster and it isn’t Stewart, the only player on the 40 that would make a little bit of sense - and not much at that - would be Luisangel Acuña. Acuña would essentially be a speed option for the Mets, a baserunner to insert late in games when a run is needed and another second base option. With Starling Marte and José Iglesias on the roster, and with both Iglesias and McNeil playing second base, it seems like Acuña’s role would be quite limited. While, obviously, a September call up doesn’t need to light the world on fire and play every day, Acuña could probably use another month of regular playing time over a call up.
If they’re going outside the 40, there are three names that could be intriguing for that final bench role. Luke Ritter, who did not make our Top 25 Prospects list but was a ‘player of note,’ has been simply mashing in Syracuse, hitting .259/.367/.500 with 24 home runs, 22 doubles, and two triples. This season, he’s logged innings at first, second, third, and left field, as well as DHing, so he’s got a lot of value for his positional flexibility.
Jackie Bradley Jr. signed with the Mets after a stint with the Long Island Ducks, and it seems like a potential September call-up could’ve been part of the conversation when he signed. An outfielder who still has a little pop left, he’s played all three outfield positions for Syracuse, but the speed he once flashed on the base paths seems to have gone away. If ‘veteran presence’ means anything, Bradley has it, but the Mets don’t seem like a team that is lacking for leadership or experience.
The last name is the least likely, and that is Drew Gilbert. Our #2 prospect heading into this season, Gilbert spent a good chunk of the year on the IL and is just now getting into a groove with playing time. To disrupt that seems like bad long-term planning, and with a player like Gilbert, the development seems far more valuable than the dopamine hit of seeing Gilbert in Queens.
Because the Mets are likely calling up Tylor Megill to start on Friday, the Mets’ bullpen going into Sunday will be down one of the folks there right now. And with 15 days now required before another call up, without an injury to justify the move, the Mets will have to part with one of their pitchers to make room for Megill before dealing with the expanded roster.
A solution to this could be Dedniel Nuñez who, after not being brought into last night’s game, was said to be ‘not recovering’ well between outings. Anthony DiComo reports that Nuñez was told not to speak to the media after the game and ‘left through a side door.’ If Nuñez is hitting the IL again, this could be the roster move that brings up Megill, and would eliminate the need to send someone down.
For the sake of roster construction ease, let’s presume that is what happens. In terms of relievers already on the 40-Man Roster, the Mets have a few options at Syracuse: Matt Gage, Grant Hartwig, Eric Orze, Alex Young, and the rehabbing Sean Reid-Foley. The unsexy, but likely, answer to the Mets’ extra pitching spot is a rotation of these exact folks over the next four weeks. If Reid-Foley is ready, he seems most likely to get the spot, but any of those names, especially Young if they are heading into a lefty-heavy series, makes sense.
The shame of this is that the Mets have some pitchers who are legitimate prospects in the high minors, but none of them have been throwing well enough right now to really make sense in this role. Mike Vasil, Blade Tidwell, and Brandon Sproat have all could have cases made for them if they had better numbers in Triple-A, but ERAS in the 5s (Vasil and Tidwell) or 8s (Sproat) just don’t cut it.
There are two hopeful thoughts, too, but neither is a solution at the moment, and that is the healthy return of either Kodai Senga or Christian Scott to the rotation by the end of the season. These both seem unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibility, and they don’t really impact the decision that needs to be made on Sunday.
