Quick NY Mets roster cut was deserved, but the problem doesn't appear solved

It didn’t take long for the New York Mets to second-guess their bargain free agent signing. Luis Garcia appeared in 6 games and gave up 11 hits. He’ll depart with a 7.11 ERA onto the waiver wire. Sources confirm there is no indication he’ll receive a free Slurpee upon his departure.

Garcia was always one of those Opening Day roster pitchers we knew could eventually get cut. Richard Lovelady was the first with the purpose of awarding a roster spot to Craig Kimbrel. Understandable. Only a day later, they’ve tossed aside Garcia for Joey Gerber. 11 years younger and with a 5.63 ERA in Triple-A over 62.1 career innings, the Mets aren’t exactly replacing Garcia with a sure thing.

Garcia definitely pitched his way out of ever entering the circle of trust with the Mets. His DFA wasn’t necessarily the right or wrong move to make as it seems to, more than anything, remind us of the state of the entire bullpen.

The Luis Garcia roster cut reminds us of all of the problems with the Mets bullpen

The Mets now have three optional relievers on the roster, Tobias Myers and Huascar Brazoban being the others along with Gerber. The Mets have shown a lot of trust in Myers and would probably only demote him if they really had no other choice. Brazoban is pitching his way to the top of the depth chart alongside Brooks Raley and Devin Williams.

Flexibility was never a strength of the Mets bullpen. They lacked the ability to ever send a guy down for 10 days and exchange him for a fresh arm. Gerber’s presence allows this. That’s a win. What isn’t are the other choices on the 40-man roster.

There’s nobody lingering in the minors who absolutely deserves a major league roster spot. Austin Warren has a 1.23 ERA, Alex Carillo’s is 12.27, and Jonathan Pintaro is at 4.05. There are a variety of feelings with each of these guys. Warren pitched well, but we realize there’s a limit. Enough is enough with Carrillo. Pintaro needs to show he’s worth a placement among the best Mets prospects. At 28, the Mets are willing to wait a little longer to find out.

The weirdest part about the Mets roster is the presence of two longmen in the bullpen. Myers and Sean Manaea co-existing is a result of the Mets starters being healthy to enter the year. We can gripe about the Mets not trading away a pitcher. With the way David Peterson has looked and the poor outing from Kodai Senga on Saturday, he’d be justified blaming your migraine on either. No team should carry two relievers like this. It’s just the situation the Mets are in and kind of chose by keeping Myers around and stretching him out to be a starter.

Although there’s a question of talent, the Mets bullpen does feel a little more balanced following the departure of Lovelady and Garcia. Manaea might be used more as an actual lefty reliever rather than a mop-up guy in perpetuity. Kimbrel has far greater upside than Lovelady ever would and rolling the dice on him having a big year as opposed to Garcia wouldn’t be too crazy. Gerber doesn’t move the needle, but he just seems to be temporary anyway. His spot is now, oddly, the one A.J. Minter would most likely replace if Kimbrel pitches well.

We all knew coming into this year the Mets were going to need guys like Dylan Ross, Ryan Lambert, and maybe one or two free agent fliers to work out in order to be impressed with the bullpen. It’s a long season. 15 games in and two relievers already executed from the roster, they look theoretically better but with plenty of the same questions remaining.