NY Mets are quickly learning a reality the LA Dodgers already knew with Jose Ramos

It didn’t take long in spring training for the New York Mets to get a dose of reality as to why the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled the plug on a 25-year-old outfielder who had a .916 OPS in Triple-A last year. Jose Ramos came to the Mets on a minor league deal and through 8 plate appearances this spring, he’s hitless with 6 strikeouts.

Like most sluggers with majestic power abilities, Ramos strikes out a lot. He fanned 129 times in 411 plate appearances last year. It has been his biggest weakness, striking out 727 total times in 2478 games. That’s just under 30% of the time per plate appearance.

Along with just a .229 batting average in Double-A, the Dodgers saw the clear limitations of this outfield slugger whose age is what will continue to provide him with opportunities for at least a little while longer.

Jose Ramos is one of the few Mets outfield depth pieces struggling in spring training

While Cristian Pache is 8 for 11, MJ Melendez has homered twice, and A.J. Ewing has made his presence known, Ramos is falling down the depth chart quickly. Capable of playing center field, we shouldn’t expect the Mets to toss him aside too quickly. Let him heat up in the minors and call upon him for help if needed then.

The outfield depth the Mets have right now is one of the more intriguing parts of the roster beyond just the ongoing competition for right field. Nick Morabito and Jared Young’s presence on the 40-man roster, with no real chance to make the club, furthers how deep their options go.

The large number of outfielders might make the Brett Baty in right field experiment end quickly. There are plenty of unanswered questions as to how they’ll spread the at-bats between him, Mark Vientos, and Jorge Polanco.

Ramos’ early spring struggles are nothing new. In his one at-bat last year with the Dodgers in the preseason, he struck out. The early struggles aren’t so much alarming as they are confirming. Let this be the time when he makes his mistakes with all of the coaches and big leaguers present to add in pointers.

30 MLB teams had a chance to have Ramos, the Dodgers simply by keeping him. He was even available in the Rule 5 Draft although his massive K rate would’ve made even a non-contending team pause at the idea.

Overcoming the strikeouts and building off of his Triple-A success last year can land Ramos in good standing with the Mets early in 2026 should they need an additional outfielder. It’s only his age that makes him notable on a depth chart full of older guys who’ve been to the big leagues before.

It hasn’t been a promising beginning to his Mets tenure. Let’s see if things change once he arrives in Syracuse and whether or not there’s something there. Right now, he’s looking like a midseason roster cut.