5 Mets players who may not be on the roster by the end of the 2023 season

2) Mets starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco

This one hurts. Carrasco has been a phenomenal player and teammate throughout his career. A starting pitcher with a good career, especially in his best seasons in Cleveland, and an example to follow after battling and overcoming cancer.

Despite being somewhat overshadowed in the trade that came to the Mets along with the headline of that trade, Francisco Lindor, expectations of having a pitcher of his caliber in the Mets were high. Yet his short career in Queens has been plagued by injuries and poor performance on the mound.

Carrasco was never asked to be an ace on the Mets. Especially now that he is projected to be the fourth or fifth starting pitcher in the rotation, the demand is not as high, but the team needs to see good health and good performance from Carlos if they want to compete.

Even if Carrasco comes healthy and pitches a good midseason, trading him at the deadline wouldn't be a bad idea. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season and the team has enough depth from different options in the big leagues and the minors to cover the position.

Given his unreliable health, the Mets could trade him for some bullpen help or a low-level prospect with potential. Sort of like trading Jason Vargas to the Phillies in 2019, except that the prospect should be a better one for a pitcher like Carrasco than what the Mets got for Vargas.

If they didn't have the necessary depth, this scenario might never come up, but given the current state of the Mets, Carrasco could be out of the organization by early August. In that case, the Mets can add Megill, Peterson, or whatever starting pitcher they obtain via a trade at the deadline to bolster their playoff rotation.

3) Mets designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach

Daniel Vogelbach has become a Mets fan favorite, not necessarily because of what he has produced but because of his personality. As for his offensive contribution, he was perhaps better than fans remember, hitting .255/.393/.436/.830 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 183 plate appearances during his stay with the Mets.

Vogelbach was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for reliever Colin Holderman, who showed good potential in his arm with the Mets. The team traded for Vogey, as some call him, to have an option at the DH position against righties.

He's been a good hitter versus right-handed pitchers in his career, posting a .822 OPS. Another aspect of Vogelbach is his patience at the plate, which has augured him a .364 OBP vs. RHP during his MLB tenure.

However, the Mets may not have the patience to wait for Vogelbach to put up some good numbers in the first half of the next year. A team with a level of competition like the Mets, with the rivals that it must surpass in the East division of the National League, and their goal to win a championship, requires reliable options in the lineup that always produce.

Vogelbach also has pressure from a group of youngsters in the minors like Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty who could produce enough to replace him in the position. Likewise, the trade deadline market could have multiple power bat options that could help the team win, as in the case of C.J. Cron or superstar Shohei Ohtani.

This could cause Vogelbach to become available for trade at the trade deadline. It must be considered that he has value in the market due to his power, discipline at the plate, and his contract which is quite affordable.

This places Vogelbach as a good bench option for other teams while the Mets can cover areas of need or open up a space for their top prospects or new player acquisition. Still, Vogelbach would have to produce more for the Mets not to have to move him, while he looks like an ideal player to be traded in July.

4) Mets outfielder Tommy Pham

The Mets signed Tommy Pham this offseason looking for a right-handed hitter who could cover the outfield and hit well against lefties in search of a DH plate. Pham brings together the skills to cover both areas of need.

Pham seems a good fit for the Mets due to his track record against lefties with a .276/.392/.450 line. However, he also has a weakness that has been increasing in his career.

He has shown worse plate discipline skills by increasing his strikeouts and decreasing his ability to get on base via walks. Last year, his strikeout percentage was the highest of his career since 2016.

On the other hand, his defense is not the best, positioning himself as one of the worst LF in outs above average which shows how many outs a player has saved in a range-based metric of skill. Indeed, this indicator does not help when being considered to cover the outfield.

Likewise, Pham is a player recognized for having a strong character and temperament. He was in the eye of the hurricane in an incident where he punched Joc Pederson for an inconvenience in a fantasy football league. This type of behavior could create problems in the clubhouse that would not help the case of Pham's playing time or his tenure with the team.

Pham would have to respond with good production from his bat, especially against lefties, to stay with the Mets throughout 2023 and help the team in the playoff run. If Pham starts to slow down coupled with his defensive and demeanor issues, he could be a trade candidate by this year's deadline.

The return of a Pham trade would have to be with a team in competition since he is a free agent at the end of 2023. This would limit the value a bit, but it would help to get some depth and generate a space that could be filled with some new acquisition or a prospect from the team farm.

5) Mets pitcher Stephen Nogosek

The New York Mets selected Stephen Nogosek in the 6th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Nogosek spent his career in the minors acting as a reliever and occasional starter posting a 3.24 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP throughout his six years in the Mets system.

Regarding his experience in the majors, Nogosek debuted in 2019 in seven games in which he accumulated 6.2 innings with a horrible ERA of 10.80. He pitched briefly in 2021 and saw a bit more action in 2022, where he threw a total of 22 innings in 12 games finishing with a 2.45 ERA.

Now Nogosek will be competing for a spot on the Mets' roster. It is highly that he makes the team since he does not have a minor league option, so if it does not start with the big team he would have to be designated for assignment.

Many analysts project that the young pitcher will start the year with the Mets after posting better numbers last year in his time in the majors. This implies that Nogosek would make the team above many other options that are also viable for the team, so the pressure to generate good results immediately will be there.

There isn't much confidence that Nogosek has the stuff to stay in MLB all season. He is not a strikeout pitcher and has displayed control issues throughout his career. His FIP last year ended at 4.66, indicating that the defense helped keep his ERA below 3.00.

Stephen Nogosek will have to make a big effort to remain on the team as a viable bullpen option. Everything indicates that he could be designated for assignment even well before the middle of the season unless he puts up good numbers to be considered as a trade candidate but it is really doubtful. Nogosek will likely only be a Mets player for a few months or weeks in 2023.