3) Jose Azocar
Outfielder insurance is the only way to describe Jose Azocar. Acquired in September off waivers from the San Diego Padres, Azocar was a candidate to give the Mets the speed off the bench they were asking for from a variety of different players in the final month. He never made it out of the minor leagues for the Mets. However, he did play pretty well.
Azocar set pitchers ablaze with a .353/.382/.529 slash line for Syracuse. A small sample of only 13 games, it included a pair of home runs and 6 stolen bases in 7 attempts.
As a minor league depth piece, Azocar is sensational. He can run and field. He has Triple-A pitchers figured out. The problem is we care more about the Mets in New York City than the ones way upstate in Syracuse where he belongs.
Azocar is in the same camp as Zuber. DFA and re-sign him to a minor league deal if you have to. Because he no longer has those coveted minor league options any longer, sticking with him only works if the team doesn’t have a player like Tyrone Taylor or Jose Siri ready for Opening Day. While there’s room on the 40-man roster, he can park. When someone better or more important comes around and the lot is full, expect him to get DFA’d.