3 Mets players on the 40-man roster in danger of not making it to Opening Day

The 40-man roster for the New York Mets will continue to change with each addition the club makes. Before Opening Day, several returning players will part from the organization or at least be removed from the choice of 40 to begin the year on the team.

We have already seen the Mets make a waiver claim on William Woods and DFA him when they needed a spot on the roster. Similar players shouldn’t get too cozy.

Which three players should be most concerned about losing a 40-man roster spot before Opening Day? For different reasons, it’s these guys we should expect to see get the DFA slip.

1) The Mets can’t possibly invite Darin Ruf back for another year

It would be criminal of Billy Eppler to believe Darin Ruf belongs on the Mets roster in 2023. Why is he still here? My guess would be the team hopes to trade him for some international bonus money. Never forget the Mets paid a dollar for Cameron Maybin. Weirder trades have happened.

Ruf does have more positional versatility than his DH counterpart, Daniel Vogelbach. He can at least play right field. That’s a lousy reason to keep him around. When the team has an offseason to look at more legitimate upgrades, they need to make a move with Ruf even if they ultimately end up having to DFA him and pay the salary.

Ruf’s rough patch with the Mets won’t scare off every team. Acquiring him for free without having to pay much or any of his salary could be worth it for some clubs. I could totally see the Tampa Bay Rays adding him on the cheap and only giving the Mets their oldest Single-A prospect they have while Steve Cohen continues to be the one paying Ruf.

Something will happen with Ruf. The Mets aren’t the best team they can be with him around.