NY Mets roster cuts remind us spring training stats don't matter

Just over a week into New York Mets spring training games, eliminations have begun. Three longshots to make the Opening Day roster have been reassigned. Alex Carrillo goes to Triple-A, officially. Anderson Severino and Matt Turner won’t make the cut as the lefty replacement for A.J. Minter.

Only Carrillo is a membrer of the 40-man roster and after last year’s performance in the majors, carrying him on the Opening Day roster was unfathomable. Severino came to the Mets in the offseason based largely on a successful Winter League performance while Turner joined via the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft from the New York Yankees who had signed him as a minor league free agent shortly before.

The elimination from Mets camp doesn’t necessarily end their time appearing in spring training games. That’ll be important because all three should be itching for major league playing time at some point in 2026.

Spring training stats definitely matter with all 3 of these Mets pitchers throwing scoreless innings

Carrillo with 1, Severino with 2, and Turner with 3, the trio has combined for 6 scoreless this spring. They could have been throwing immaculate innings and still none of the three would have been a serious consideration over anyone else outside of multiple injuries.

For Carrillo, he heads down to Triple-A where he’ll look to build off of the faith the Mets had in him to sign him in the first place. Success in Independent Ball and the Winter League in 2024 is what caught the Mets’ eye. They apparently were willing to overlook an already high walk rate which has carried over into the pros. If he doesn’t figure it out quickly, he’ll become a lost-cause.

Severino is in a similar spot with a big year in Mexico followed by a 0.98 ERA performance in the Winter League. A former New York Yankees prospect who never got out of A-Ball with them, he eventually latched on with the Chicago White Sox for a few years but only logged 7.1 innings in the majors. He’s another high strikeout, high walk guy.

Turner, a fellow southpaw like Severino, is another Indy Ball darling from 2024 who got a wake-up call in the pros. He pitched well in Double-A but got knocked around in Triple-A. It was in Albequerque, however, which is notably one of the toughest places to pitch.

The Mets seem pretty set on Bryan Hudson being the guy to replace Minter. Already on the 40-man roster and with his strongest season coming in 2024 at the major league level, that competition is dwindling fast. Nate Lavender and Joe Jacques are another pair who’ve been with them at camp. Brandon Waddell suits them better as a long reliever or emergency starter.