3 Mets players who will make the Opening Day roster but not last the season

2) Jorge Lopez

Another reliever who will begin the year on the Opening Day roster but won't last the season is Jorge Lopez. Hot take? Perhaps. But it really shouldn't be.

The Mets signed Lopez to a one-year deal worth $2 million. This is nothing more than a massive gamble hoping this right-hander shows signs of the pitcher he was in the first half of the 2022 season. Out of nowhere, Lopez broke out for the Orioles, taking over as their closer and posting a 1.62 ERA in 40 appearances. He was an all-star for the Orioles and helped them stay afloat in the playoff race but was flipped at the deadline to the Twins.

Immediately after that trade, things went downhill for the now 30-year-old. Lopez struggled for Minnesota down the stretch, and pitched even worse for them this season before being traded at the end of July to the Marlins despite the Twins being in the playoff race. Lopez had an ERA over 9.00 for Miami in 12 appearances before being DFA'd and claimed by the Orioles to finish out the year. He struggled there too and was DFA'd right before the postseason.

Taking a chance on Lopez to see if he can recapture his 2022 first half form is fine, but it's hard to expect that to happen when he's been bad throughout the rest of his eight-year career. Lopez has a career 5.51 ERA in 230 appearances. A lot of that has to do with his struggles beginning his career as a starting pitcher, but he still has an ERA well over 4.00 in relief throughout his career, and that's even with the outstanding 2022 first half.

I'd love nothing more than for Lopez to be a dominant reliever for the Mets. He certainly has the stuff to be that guy. Unfortunately, the body of work suggests he's more likely to not even last the year than he is to come close to being as good as he was that one time.

3) Joey Wendle

The Mets haven't done much of anything notable when it comes to position players. The Tyrone Taylor acquisition is a good one, assuming he goes into a fourth outfielder role. Other than that, the only signing of note that's even worth discussing is Joey Wendle, who the Mets gave a one-year deal worth $2 million to.

This deal made a lot of sense for the Mets. Wendle is essentially the Luis Guillorme replacement. He can play three of the four infield positions with first base being the only place he doesn't play, just like Guillorme. He's a really good defender, and should do more with the bat than Guillorme. He's also a lot faster than Guillorme. The only question is if he'll be good enough to be worth keeping around.

Wendle had a good four-year run in Tampa Bay which included an all-star appearance in 2021. Unfortunately, since that season, he hasn't been very good at all at the plate. He's spent each of the last two seasons with the Marlins and had every chance to be their shortstop of the future, but just didn't hit enough.

This past season he slashed .212/.248/.306 with two home runs and 20 RBI in 112 games and 318 plate appearances. His 50 OPS+ was 20 points worse than Guillorme who was non-tendered because he didn't hit enough.

Wendle is expected to be the backup infielder. He'll presumably play mostly at second base and third base since Francisco Lindor rarely ever sits. The argument for him not lasting the whole season comes down to me expecting him to not hit enough and the Mets having other options to take a look at internally.

The top prospects are ones everyone is focused on, and for good reason, but those aren't guys who will take over Wendle's role as a reserve. Prospects who haven't debuted yet and aren't as highly touted but have hit well in the upper minors like Jeremiah Jackson and Luke Ritter are better fits, and will be deserving of a look in the event Wendle struggles. Having good fallback options means the Mets have no use of keeping Wendle around if his struggles offensively continue.