These 3 NY Mets minor league signings are making a case for a call-up

Austin Slater, Andy Ibanez, and Vidal Brujan all get a seat on the New York Mets chartered flight. Is that the best the Mets can do? Slater has found a nice role as a righty who hits left-handed pitchers. Ibanez is still trying to make us eat our words. Brujan is kind of here out of necessity and a lack of other choices.

Meanwhile, several others brought in by the Mets in the offseason are making a worthy case in Triple-A for a call-up to help the team burst the bubble, get back to .500, and making this a summer where we care about the results of the game and not just what the future can look like.

Here’s the problem: there isn’t a whole lot of room for any of them at the moment. Whether in the bullpen, in the lineup, or on the bench, they don’t seem to bring much more than some of the others currently on the roster.

Will any of these Mets minor league signings get a shot in the show?

1) Anderson Severino

Lefty Anderson Severino has blown away expectations. A 0.00 ERA in 13.2 innings, 9.9 K/9, and most surprising of all a 2.6 BB/9 rate, he has been a steady presence in the Syracuse bullpen. Hardly a kid at 31, the Mets took a chance on him this offseason based largely on success in the Independent and Winter Leagues. He has two remaining minor league options which bodes well for him to, if this continues, eventually get some big league action.

Why he hasn’t been called up yet: They already have three lefties in the bullpen with A.J. Minter on the way back. They want guys like Craig Kimbrel to work out. As good as Severino has been in the minors, the Mets need to be sure he’s better than what they already have.

2) Cristian Pache

Slashing .276/.317/.457, Cristian Pache is hitting well in Triple-A and alerting the Mets that he’s right there for them if they want him around. Pache was one of the team’s most successful hitters in spring training, some fans believing he could make the team over Jared Young out of camp. Speed and defense are a guarantee from him. There’s a place for Pache in the majors even if his bat slows down.

Why he hasn't been called up yet: Pache can hit .400 in Triple-A. He’s not going to get called up to sit on the bench and be a less proven version of Tyrone Taylor. Much like Severino, failure in the big league is giving the Mets hesitation.

3) Christian Arroyo

Christian Arroyo has been around for a while and has decent big league numbers. There are worse players than his .252/.299/.294 slash line in 992 big league plate appearances out there in the majors, even on the current roster. He has played some third base this year, but with 4 errors already, he’s more of a first baseman/DH type. The average and OBP are good this year but it comes with only one home run. Arroyo has never had a professional season where he hit double-digit dingers with a team.

Why he hasn't been called up yet: The Mets probably prefer the defensive versatility of Andy Ibanez who can play the infield and outfield with the added pop. Arroyo’s light-hitting at the corner infield lacks major appeal for a club who could use more home runs.

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