NY Mets: 3 players to consider promoting in September

This one might come as a surprise to many, but when you break it down, this would make the most sense for the Mets.

If the Mets are still competitive in September, calling up a relief pitcher makes so much sense. If they’re not, front office could make the argument for another prospect like third baseman Brett Baty.

The problem with Baty in a competitive atmosphere is that he’s not ready yet. In Double-A Binghamton, he’s performing well, but his stats prove that he’s still developing. His promotion to Double-A came after a great performance at High-A Brooklyn, batting .309 with 7 HRs. However, at Binghamton, he’s still developing, with a line of .239/.330/.386.

Other prospects who are performing include Francisco Alvarez, the Mets’ top prospect (and 32nd overall) on MLB.com. He’s 19, at High-A Brooklyn, and has plenty of time to develop. Calling him up would be more detrimental than helpful. There’s Travis Blankenhorn, but he seems like he’ll be an if-injury call-up, much like options such as Patrick Mazeika would be.

The Mets would be helped by pitching depth of Thomas Szapucki, but he underwent season-ending surgery in July.

Finally, there’s Jake Reed.

Reed was a fifth-round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 2014 MLB Draft. Since arriving in Minnesota out of college from Oregon, he never made an MLB appearance until this year.

He opted for free agency entering the year and signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels in November. He opted out and signed another minor league contract, this time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Before being designated for assignment, Reed made 6 appearances for 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and a home run. The Mets signed him last month.

Reed was likely DFA’d due to an influx of pitching depth in Los Angeles, but he’s not a bad addition.

Since the All-Star Break, Aaron Loup’s ERA is 0.00; Miguel Castro’s ERA is 1.46; Drew Smith’s is 1.72; Jeurys Familia has been magnificent lately; Edwin Díaz seems to teeter from really good or really bad, regardless of whether it’s a save opportunity or not. Reed could be a very nice addition in a bullpen who has shown signs of weakness lately.

Noah Syndergaard will likely be used out of the bullpen when he returns, but the Mets could really use another solid arm.

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Pending no other players go out with injury, the Mets could really use two of these three players. Khalil Lee is the one who sounds like a no-brainer, but Jake Reed or Akeem Bostick could be useful out of the bullpen. If any MLB relievers have a dip in performance or are out with injury, we could see both names in September.