2 Mets players to non-tender, 2 to protect, 1 to shop in trades by Tuesday’s deadline

The New York Mets 40-man roster has plenty of space at the moment. If last year’s actions by David Stearns were any indications, he won’t hesitate to temporarily fill those 40 seats with waiver claims throughout the offseason.

Tuesday is a big day for MLB. It’s the day when qualifying offer decisions need to come in. It’s also the non-tender deadline which means several more players will be entering free agency. Some might even be pretty good and are only there because teams don’t want to pay them. This isn’t the case with the Mets. In addition to this, teams have to make their final decisions on who to protect on the 40-man roster before December’s Rule 5 Draft.

We’re bound to see a couple of key players from 2024 end up non-tendered and released by the ball club. Prospects not on the 40-man roster will be protected as well. The Mets also happen to have one player lingering on the 40-man roster they’d be wise to trade sooner than later.

Two Mets players to non-tender

Jose Azocar never made it to the majors last year with the Mets. A smart pickup in September to give them some possible speed off the bench in the final regular season month, this out of options outfielder has no business hanging around the 40-man roster any longer than he needs to. Despite hitting .353 in his 55 plate appearances in Syracuse, there is enough of a track record at the professional level to realize he’s a good minor league piece and not someone to expect to survive the full length of an MLB season.

Azocar presents some fine tools, but serves the Mets better as a guy who can be re-signed to a minor league contract.

A name you may know slightly more falling into a similar category is Tyler Zuber. Acquired at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays, he got whipped in Syracuse. A 0-3 record and 12.38 ERA in 16 innings of work should be enough to show there are better options out there for the Mets.

Again, a new contract isn’t something to get upset about. Zuber could always get DFA’d later on and pass through waivers only to accept a minor league assignment. In either case, expectations for him are pretty non-existent.

The Mets player to trade off of the 40-man roster

Mets prospect Alex Ramirez looked like he’d have a big slice of the future at one point. He won’t turn 22 until January and yet his stock has fallen off tremendously. Due to service time, the Mets protected him ahead of last year’s Rule 5 Draft with a thought another team would select and stash him on their bench. The precarious nature of the Rule 5 Draft, which requires any selectees to remain on the MLB roster for the full season, creates a quasi-chess match of decisions.

Ramirez has now put together two bad years in a row after such a promising 2022 campaign. He hit .210 with 123 strikeouts in as many games during the 2024 season all spent in Double-A. Many of his numbers were eerily similar to what he did a season prior in High-A Brooklyn. The biggest improvement was nearly doubling his stolen base total from 21 to 40. Other than this, his numbers were on-par with the season before.

No closer to looking like a major league player, the trouble with keeping Ramirez around is the Mets will need room for guys actually capable of helping out in 2025. The second of three minor league options will get used again when the Mets demote him at the start of the season. Before his value tanks even more, they should look to shop him.

Have doubts about a deal involving Ramirez taking place before Tuesday’s deadlines, but don’t drop your jaw when he is eventually sent somewhere else as a lottery ticket for a bullpen arm or a prospect blocked at his position.