Mets Remove Robert Carson, Mike Baxter, Greg Burke, and Sean Henn From 40-Man Roster

Per the Mets, left handed reliever Robert Carson, who had been placed on waivers, has been claimed by the Los Angeles Angels.  Outfielder Mike Baxter, who had also been placed on waivers, has been claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sep 24, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets right fielder

bats during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

In addition, the club announced that they outrighted right handed reliever Greg Burke and left handed reliever Sean Henn.  Both players have been removed from the 40-man roster.

With the Mets’ 40-man roster full before today, today’s roster purge came as no surprise.

The team needs to add eight players who are currently on the 60-day disabled list back to the 40-man roster no longer than five days after the World Series, and today’s moves cleared some necessary space.  There will almost certainly be more players removed from the 40-man roster over the next 10 days to two weeks.

Today’s roster casualties were to be expected, and the players removed from the roster had little to no chance of being a part of the major league club in 2014.

Carson, 24, struggled in a brief stint with the Mets in 2012, and was worse this season.  In 19.2 innings pitched, Carson had an 8.24 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.

Baxter, 28, split this season between Triple-A Las Vegas and the Mets, and was eligible for arbitration.  In 155 plate appearances for the Mets, he had a triple slash of .189/.303/.250.  The Whitestone, Queens native will be remembered for the phenomenal catch he made while crashing into the wall to preserve Johan Santana‘s no hitter in 2012.

The side-arming Burke, 31, tossed 31.2 innings for the Mets this season, and had an ERA of 5.68 to go along with an unsightly 1.83 WHIP.

Henn, 32, had a cup of coffee with the Mets at the end of the season after spending the majority of the year with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Thoughts:

As is noted above, the Mets’ 40-man roster was full before today.  The four cuts made today brings the 40-man roster to 36, but the club still needs to add the eight players who are currently on the 60-man disabled list back onto the 40-man roster.  In addition, the club will also need to add a number of prospects to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

In the coming days, there should be another wave of 40-man cuts made.  Players who are at risk include Andrew Brown, Scott Atchison, Zach Lutz, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jordany Valdespin, and Omar Quintanilla (who is arbitration eligible).

Additionally, David Aardsma, Tim Byrdak, Pedro Feliciano, Frank Francisco, Aaron Harang, and Daisuke Matsuzaka are all pending free agents.  Their departure and removal from the 40-man roster would create even more space.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow@RisingAppleBlog on Twitter and Instagram, and Like Rising Apple’s Facebook page  to keep up with the latest news, rumors, and opinion.