Recent NY Mets roster cuts show a continued preference for shaping the team

The only sound you’ll hear around the New York Mets offseason is the screeching of it coming to a halt. There is plenty more to do before Opening Day and the slow-moving free agent market (as well as the lack of notable trades) has them waiting around for a haymaker.

Post-World Series, the Mets have been actively adding to the 40-man roster in smaller ways. They’ve taken a look at needs throughout the organization and seem to have made it a preference favor arms over bats yet again.

Last week, the team quietly placed Drew Romo and Ji Hwan Bae on waivers. Romo was claimed by the Chicago White Sox. Bae went through waivers and was reassigned to Triple-A. The moves cleared up two roster spots, leaving the Mets at 38. Not quite necessary as they didn’t immediately replace either, their execution from the roster reminds how David Stearns likes to fill out his roster: arms in abundance, bats only when needed.

The Mets 40-man roster is heavy on pitching, short on hitting once again

Of the 38 players on the 40-man roster, only 14 are position players. MLB teams generally carry 13 position players. The group includes stone cold mortal locks to make the team, such as Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. Then there are guys who’ll serve as depth if not traded first. Nick Morabito, Hayden Senger, and Jared Young are the clearest examples of this.

Meanwhile, the other 24 spots are for pitchers. This doesn’t even include Adbert Alzolay who is signed to a minor league deal. The group does have a seat for Richard Lovelady and Cooper Criswell who are both out of minor league options as well as Austin Warren, Joey Gerber, and Alex Carrillo. All five can end up DFA’d at any moment.

The Mets haven’t actively added to their organization much at all in terms of position players outside of a couple of outfielders. Jose Ramos, Jose Rojas, and Cristian Pache are outfield depth. Jackson Cluff and Christian Arroyo are the two infielders brought on in minor league deals.

Their roster is at an interesting point where the major league infield remains crowded but has room for everyone in their own role. Carson Benge remains off of the 40-man roster and doesn’t need to join until he officially makes the team. They have far less room for the large number of journeymen relievers they stacked in Triple-A last season with Christian Scott, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong waiting for their opportunity to secure a more permanent spot on the MLB roster.

Already an amazingly crowded roster, it’s mid-January and the team is lacking key pieces. They need at least two more outfielders. Another first base option wouldn’t hurt either. They were quick to sign Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. No other significant reliever has been added since. Do they even bother or are they putting faith in Huascar Brazoban and someone like Dylan Ross with options?

The fact that the Mets have yet to pull the plug on a player like Lovelady who has a split contract that’ll surely have him on the waiver wire at some point is likely related to uncertainty about the health of A.J. Minter. Why haven’t they dumped Carrillo? It’s some strange belief in him despite pitching 3 bad games in the majors last year and not looking excellent in the minors.

Preference for arms over bats is a philosophy we can get behind. The hard part comes in when more position players are added to the 40-man roster and how many of those spots can be used on relievers they can shuttle back and forth from the majors to minors. Once again, the Mets are setting themselves up for 40+ pitchers in a single season and that’s not even accounting for a whole lot of injuries.