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

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.