SNY is already cutting NY Mets players from the roster in their projected bullpen

Nobody knows for sure who’ll be in the New York Mets bullpen to open the season. There are sure things like Edwin Diaz, a healthy A.J. Minter, and developing stud Jose Butto. Two or three spots are up for grabs. Following the signing of Ryne Stanek, SNY took their stab at what the Mets bullpen could look like to open the season.

They aren’t “wrong.” They’re also probably not right. Eight relievers means a traditional five-man rotation which doesn’t appear to be the case for the 2025 Mets. As such, optional players like Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nunez, and most likely Huascar Brazoban would begin the year in the minors. Along with including all three of them which is not going to happen, they neglected to find a role for Griffin Canning and Danny Young.

SNY is already forgetting about Griffin Canning and dumping Danny Young

Canning is only not going to make the MLB roster in some way if he agrees to a minor league assignment. He has enough service time to refuse a minor league assignment. It might be something discussed with him previously before signing. However, there’s nothing more than a handshake agreement he could have in order to make this go through.

Young, on the other hand, should be viewed as a player on the roster bubble. Out of options this year, he’s not quite as necessary and does feel like a low man on the totem pole. He ended the year poorly enough to believe he’ll be DFA’d before the season begins.

It’s definitely strange for the projected bullpen to exclude two guys on the roster while including Brazoban. The Mets roster has tightened up. At full capacity prior to the Stanek signing, they’ll need to make a separate roster move to make room.

For Canning, a spot in the bullpen isn’t necessarily what the future holds. He could very well win a rotation spot over Paul Blackburn although that’s no guarantee either. Young, on the other hand, might just stick around in case Minter isn’t ready at the season’s opener.

SNY boldly included Sean Reid-Foley in their project bullpen as well. His spot is suspect as well. Signed to a split deal at the start of the offseason, the strategy of paying him more for time spent on the MLB roster versus the minors is probably to make him less desirable on the waiver wire. SRF dug himself in as bullpen depth for the Mets on a limited basis over the last few seasons. Considering the results and the deal he agreed to, the Mets probably have plans of placing him on waivers at some point while crossing their fingers hoping he survives. This way, he stays as minor league depth off of the 40-man roster while making more money than he would as a free agent elsewhere.