NY Mets made a bunch of roster moves today, one they didn’t make is baffling

The New York Mets made a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, including the activation of Starling Marte from the IL and the DFA of Chris Devenski. Devenski had a rough day on Monday versus the Los Angeles Angels. It wasn’t horrific, but in need of some fresh arms, the team decided it was worth clearing his roster spot to make room for Rico Garcia.

It’s not the kind of roster move to get too upset about. Devenski was on borrowed time, outperforming expectations. Kind enough to accept minor league assignments throughout this season, it was getting to the point where the veteran might refuse, which may very well have been the case in this instance. Because of how much service time he has, Devenski had the right to refuse to go down to the minors.

Within the roster shuffling, one player managed to stick around without much justification. Alex Carrillo stuck around through the weekend after Friday’s meltdown. His 3 home runs in 1.1 innings wasn’t enough for the Mets to send him down. In all three of his appearances this year, Carrillo has been unsuccessful at keeping a runner from scoring.

Why is Alex Carrillo still on the Mets roster?

Carrillo has a fascinating story as an Independent Ball pickup by the Mets. A good story works in a library. On the baseball field, it should be all about wins.

Carrillo had a 3.24 ERA in 25 minor league innings this season with 5.2 shutout frames in Triple-A. It’s an incredibly small sample yet seemed to be enough for the Mets to try to see if he can be of any use in the majors. So far, he hasn’t been.

Fans immediately questioned why after the All-Star Break he was the first to come out of the bullpen for the Mets in a tight game on Friday. There was no real good answer. His struggles allowed the game to get out of hand, putting the Mets in an impossible spot to come from behind against a Cincinnati Reds club not going away quietly this season.

Frankie Montas takes the ball for the Mets Tuesday night in what could very well be another stinker. Using Carrillo to eat up some innings is always a possibility although you should never structure your bullpen with that in mind. After all, they’ll have Rico Garcia and Justin Garza available for an equivalent role to control any damage.

David Stearns has had a quick finger on many underperforming players. Carrillo appears to be an exception.