Mets spring bench competition includes four players fighting for the final roster spot

Until the New York Mets make another move, it looks as if the club will head into the 2021 season with a bench most likely consisting of backup catcher Tomas Nido, infielders Jonathan Villar and Luis Guillorme, outfielder Albert Almora, and first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez.

It’s the consensus “favorite” lineup of five to break camp this spring and join the team for Opening Day. With a 26th man likely available yet again this year, we should see times when the Mets carry a sixth position player on the roster.

It’s those other additions or returning players I want to discuss here. Whether they are the 26th or 25th man is irrelevant. All we do know is that the five names mentioned above will have a little competition this spring and possibly some company.

Mets minor league addition, Brandon Drury

Brandon Drury signed with the Mets this offseason as one of their many minor league additions. The name may be familiar but the production isn’t.

Health issues in 2018 threw Drury’s promising career a curveball. He hasn’t been the same hitter he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. A right-handed hitter with versatility on the infield, he’s a longshot to make the Mets this season outside of injury.

Drury can play multiple positions which is a great big fat positive for his MLB life. However, in his last full season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019, he batted just .218/.262/.380 in a good 447 plate appearance sample size.

Prior to the Villar signing, Drury had a much better chance at making the Mets. Instead, I think he’ll need to prove himself in the minor leagues before he sniffs any major league action.

Mets minor league addition, Mallex Smith

One of the very first minor league signings the Mets made this winter brought them speedy outfielder Mallex Smith. The 2019 American League leader in stolen bases with 46 swiped bags, he’s someone the Mets could use almost exclusively for defense and pinch-running.

Smith is like Drury and Peraza. He has accomplished quite a bit at the MLB level. In 2018, he hit .296 for the Tampa Bay Rays in 544 plate appearances. Smith also stole 40 bases.

He followed it up with a .227 performance in 2019 but with the 46 steals. In fewer than 50 chances, he hit just .133 in 2020 with the Seattle Mariners. I’m not confident his bat is capable of repeating what he did several seasons ago in Tampa.

I do think we’ll see some of Smith this year—I just can’t confidently say it will be in the first series of the season.

Who wins the final Mets roster spot/dethrones a favorite?

Martinez is the guy whose job might be most in jeopardy. However, his bat on the bench is too valuable to toss aside which is why I would put him ahead of these other four players.

If the Mets carry a six-man bench, there is a clear favorite for me and that’s Heredia.

The Mets could have non-tendered Heredia this offseason if they didn’t have intentions of going to war with him in 2021 as one of their backup outfielders. A better hitter than Smith, I think it’s him we could see as the final man on the roster.

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Whoever the Mets go with, the good news is that they will have extra bullets in the chamber. I suspect some of these contracts have opt-outs in them or possibly not and we see the players decide to leave on their own accord, hoping to find a situation with some guaranteed major league playing time.