Looming NY Mets roster decision will prove to everyone that life isn’t fair

As beloved as he is by most fans, there are probably some players who’d like to tell David Stearns he’s not the boss of them now he’s not so big. Stearns has had a tendency to quickly eliminate players from the roster as needed. Sometimes it hasn’t always been warranted based solely on statistics. A looming New York Mets roster decision will prove the unfairness of it all.

Rico Garcia has now pitched 7.2 shutout innings while allowing 2 hits and not issuing a single walk. He has fanned 8 in his short 4 game stint, throwing 21-35 pitches in all outings that have extended to 2+ innings in 3 of those games. Those dazzling numbers might be all for nothing than to impress another team. The Mets are one trade deadline addition away from being forced to DFA him for a chance to, in the words of David Stearns, add someone with a higher ceiling.

The Mets may soon cut Rico Garcia from the roster despite a 0.00 ERA

Cut by the Mets after two scoreless appearances then picked up by the New York Yankees for a game, Garcia returned to Queens after one bad appearance for the Bronx Bombers. He has been brilliant 

A simpler team, maybe one not so hungry for a championship, might try to find a way to keep Garcia around. A 30-year-old journeyman signed to a minor league deal this offseason, the Mets called him up out of necessity. Now, we’re on the verge of the exact opposite happening.

The Mets don’t have the luxury of optioning Garcia to the minor leagues without first passing through waivers. He made it all the way to the Yankees last time, successfully getting overlooked by everyone in the National League and then everyone with a worse record than the Yankees in the American League. The exact opposite happened when the Yankees cut him and AL teams let him go and he followed through by making it all the way to the Mets, past every team with a worse record. The sample size was smaller in those two previous instances. Now, with more impressive results, someone might look to snatch him up.

It’s part of the game of baseball in 2025. You can’t do it alone. The sport is becoming more like football without the singular quarterback to identify every team with. Your 40-man roster is quite literal with multiple other minor leaguers set to join in for a few snaps along the way. 

Garcia deserves to stay, but unless someone gets hurt first or they choose to demote Huascar Brazoban, it’s going to get too tight. And even if Brazoban was the one to get demoted, and Garcia stays, the Mets would have him on the bubble with a roster containing one reliever, Reed Garrett, with available minor league options. The addition of Gregory Soto will be likely to cause the team to DFA Jose Castillo for the second time this year. Garcia’s presence will be determined by Thursday’s trade deadline.