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

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.