Mets add six prospects to 40-man roster, remove Jeff Walters

The Mets announced Thursday that they have added RHPs Noah Syndergaard, Cory Mazzoni, Hansel Robles, Akeel Morris, Gabriel Ynoa, and LHP Jack Leathersich to their 40-man roster.

The moves had to be made in advance of the Rule 5 deadline, and will protect the six above players from being selected.

To make room for the 40-man roster additions, the Mets removed RHP Jeff Walters, who had Tommy John surgery last season. Walters, who is not expected to be ready to return until June or July of next season, was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Thoughts:

The only real surprise here is that Triple-A RHP Logan Verrett was left unprotected. Most believed that Verrett was a slam dunk to be added, but the Mets went with less seasoned, higher-upside arms instead.

Of the players who were added, it’s safe to assume that Syndergaard, Mazzoni, and Leathersich will all make their big league debuts in 2015.

A wild card of the bunch is Robles, who finished last season in Double-A.

Ynoa finished his 2014 campaign with High-A St. Lucie, and Morris finished up with Low-A Savannah.

The Rule 5 draft takes place on December 11, during the final day of the Winter Meetings.