NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 most important spring training non-roster invitees

The New York Mets depth chart is overflowing with warm bodies. We should expect, as usual, for many of those players to make regular appearances throughout spring training games, especially with the WBC going on and eliminating some others from getting playing time in early March.

Once again, the Mets have actively brought in a small army to compete for attention in St. Lucie. Primarily focused on pitchers, it’s some of their position player invitees who seem to stand out most.

When it comes to non-roster invitees, these five are the most important ones we’ll see in spring training. They have the capability of standing out and slinking up the depth chart if someone gets hurt or doesn’t perform well enough in the big leagues.

1) Austin Barnes

How can a lifetime .223 hitter possibly offer any importance to the Mets? Because of the position he plays and how certain it is the Mets will need to use a third catcher at some point in the year, having Austin Barnes around on a minor league contract is valuable. The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers backup backstop comes to the Mets off of a year where he was released by the Dodgers in early May and never saw big league action again.

A top framer throughout his career, we shouldn’t expect Barnes to take anyone’s job away. Francisco Alvarez remains a work in progress who’ll get his chances. Luis Torrens might be the best backup catcher in baseball. It’s after those two when the questions arrive. Hayden Senger is a fun story and a quality defensive catcher. Asking him to hit at a major league level is too big of a favor.

Barnes doesn’t need to do anything other than hold down the fort and maybe impart some wisdom onto his teammates in the minors. Technically a three-time World Series champion because of his presence on the 2020, 2024, and 2025 Dodgers at some point during the seasons, he joins the Mets organization with a unique background and winning resume.

Your third-string catcher is as essential as your third-string quarterback. If you’re dipping that deep into the depth chart, you hope it’s not for long. Hope that it doesn’t last too long.