NY Mets player's WBC decision probably cost him an Opening Day spot

Now that Opening Day is less than a week away, teams across MLB are making final roster choices and cuts. The Mets are gradually whittling their roster down and aside from a few lingering questions, have more or less decided what players they'll bring with them to start the regular season. One of the players to be recently optioned was MJ Melendez whose recent participation in the WBC may have worked against him.

A lack of playing time this spring may have caused MJ Melendez to miss out on his best chance of making the Mets' roster

Over the course of the offseason, the Mets weren't exactly pressed for help in the outfield. In fact, most roster discussions centered on whether Carson Benge would do enough to make the Opening Day roster. However, with recent news that Mike Tauchman will need surgery following a torn meniscus, a new outfield spot that could've gone to Melendez has now opened up. Unfortunately, he simply didn't do enough this spring to make his case.

Shortly after it was announced that Melendez would be optioned, Carlos Mendoza was asked about the move and cited his lack of activity as a main factor. Melendez played for the Puerto Rican team and got just six total plate appearances, going 0-for-4 with two walks.

Because he took part in the tournament, his time in spring training was drastically limited and he had just 11 plate appearances. His 1.364 OPS over that small sample was good but it's far from enough data for the team to make a decision, especially given how underwhelming his numbers have been in the past few years.

In his final three seasons with the Royals, Melendez posted an 86 OPS+ and -1.9 rWAR. He spent the majority of 2025 with Triple-A Omaha where his 106 wRC+ was hardly enough to warrant a return to the majors. Without a clear future, he was non-tendered by Kansas City at the end of the season and signed a one-year contract with the Mets to add to their outfield depth.

There were quite a few things for him to work on heading into 2026. He had excellent quality of contact numbers in the minors last year but his contact abilities continued to suffer. His whiff rate (33.5%), zone-contact rate (75.6%), and strikeout rate (28.1%) all placed him in the bottom quartile of Triple-A hitters. His plate discipline also seemed to be a problem with a chase rate of 33.0% and a walk rate of just 8.1%. With insufficient spring training data, the Mets can't figure out whether these aspects of his approach have improved or stagnated.

Even with Tauchman's recent injury, Melendez would be a clear weak link on a depth chart containing proven players like Luis Robert Jr. and Juan Soto. He also doesn't have clear upside like Carson Benge. The majority of the roster doesn't look like it's sticking around for the long run but he may have missed his only shot time to make the big-league team before the season even started.