Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 signs David Stearns lacks faith in the farm system he acquired

3) The Mets didn’t protect Dom Hamel or Mike Vasil from the Rule 5 Draft

Selecting Dom Hamel and Mike Vasil to the 40-man roster before last week’s deadline seemed necessary. The Mets didn’t. Teams will now be able to pick them up in December’s Rule 5 Draft. It’s a sudden turn for a pair of pitching prospects who appeared to have a shot at making it to the majors last year when the season began. Each pitched poorly and should be an intriguing option for other ball clubs to stash in their bullpens for a year.

Hamel turns 26 in March. Until this past season, he was getting solid results. ERAs in the high 3.00s the past two seasons weren’t much of a big deal. He was striking out batters at a high rate, avoiding home runs, and not walking too many. Things changed completely in 2024 when he finished with a 6.79 ERA. Career lows or highs depending on how you want to look at it knocked him off a pedestal he had climbed onto as a potential future pitcher for the Mets.

One poor year can be explained away. So what’s the excuse for Vasil? A lower round draftee, he overachieved in 2022 mostly because of how well he pitched in St. Lucie. Vasil ran into a problem that year and the next once elevated. He’d start off well in the lower level and see his ERA inflate over 5.00 in the second half. He wrapped up 2023 with 16 starts in Triple-A where he’d go 4-4 with a 5.30 ERA. Would the pattern continue in 2024? Not really. He was 8-10 with a 6.04 ERA. He struck out less than a batter per inning. His best months were the middle ones. He started poorly and bookended it with a bad September.

Stearns felt the need to protect Alex Ramirez ahead of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft despite being further away from the majors and having close to an equivalent type of season as a hitter. A year later, he was non-tendered. Perhaps he learned his lesson. Some prospects you need to just dangle out there and let other teams deal with.