5 NY Mets players who will begin the year on the roster but might be gone by Memorial Day

5) Danny Young

Another reliever that could be on the fringe by Memorial Day is Danny Young. Signed by the Mets last offseason, Young pitched 37.2 innings out of the pen, working to a 4.54 ERA, albeit with a solid 3.64 FIP and 1.25 WHIP. The Southpaw struck out just under 30% of opponents with a 29.2% K% and only allowed home runs at a 0.72-per-9 rate. Young held batters to a 6.5% barrel percentage, albeit with an 88.9 MPH exit velo, and handed out a free pass to 10.9% of batters faced.

Now granted, there were some positives to Young’s season. He had both a sub-3.50 xFIP (3.41) and SIERA (3.22). He also had an outstanding 30.7% whiff rate. Stuff+ pinned him at 118, which was the fourth-highest among all lefty relievers in 2024, with at least 30 frames out of the pen. Young only sits 91-92 MPH with his sinker, but his low arm angle, and plus movement on his sinker and sweeper made them grade out well in the eyes of Stuff+.

However, his location was below average at best. Location+ (which FanGraphs defines as “a count- and pitch type-adjusted judge of a pitcher’s ability to put pitches in the right place”) put him at a meager 85. That was the lowest among lefty relievers with 30+ innings as a bullpen arm and the third lowest among all relievers with that many innings in 2024.

Young has the best chance of any other player on today’s list to stick around past Memorial Day. He has good stuff and solid underlying numbers, and with A.J. Minter’s health situation, Young could get an opportunity to stay on the Mets’ roster. However, that low of a Location+ mark is worrying and could lead to some trouble in 2025 if he doesn’t improve in this area.