Mets lose Logan Verrett, four others in Rule 5 Draft

During Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings, the Mets lost five players – one in the major league phase of the draft and four in the minor league phase of the draft.

In the major league phase of the draft, the Mets lost Triple-A RHP Logan Verrett to Baltimore.

Verrett, 24, who most expected would be added to the 40-man roster but was left vulnerable, posted a 4.33 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 162 innings pitched (28 starts) last year for Las Vegas.

Unless the Orioles keep Verrett on their 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season, they will have to offer him back to the Mets for a small fee.

In the minor league phase of the draft, the Mets lost RHP Greg Peavey to Minnesota, C Cam Maron to Cincinnati, IF Juan Carlos Gamboa to San Diego, and RHP Randy Fontanez to the Dodgers.

Peavey, 26, posted a 2.90 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 115 innings pitched (18 starts) this past season for Double-A Binghamton. In a small sample size (28.2 innings) with Triple-A Las Vegas, his ERA was 11.62.

Maron, who turns 24 in January, hit .282/.387/.362 this past season for High-A St. Lucie.

Gamboa, 23, hit below .200 in both 2012 and 2013 for Short-Season Brooklyn, and played in the Mexican League in 2014.

Fontanez, 25, split the 2014 season between High-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, posting a 3.74 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 46 innings pitched (65 appearances).

Thoughts:

Logan Verrett, the only player who was taken in the major league phase of the draft, is someone who likely would’ve seen time with the Mets in 2015 had he been protected.

However, the Mets decided that Verrett was someone it wouldn’t hurt to lose, and when you take into account their starting pitching depth throughout all levels of the organization, they’re probably correct.

Of the players the Mets lost in the minor league phase of the draft, all were old for their respective leagues and didn’t really stick out.