3 Mets auditioning for bigger roles on next year's team

It is never too early to start looking out for the 2023 New York Mets roster in July. But bigger roles with the Mets next season are exactly what some of the players on this team are playing for as the front office evaluates their options for next season. 

1) Luis Guillorme might find himself on the outside looking in regardless of his successes this season for the Mets. 

Luis Guillorme finds himself in a tough spot with the Mets going forward in terms of his volume of play. The projected Mets infield for 2023 would be Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, and Eduardo Escobar, with Mark Vientos and/or (in a longshot) Brett Baty waiting in the wings to see action at the big-league level next season. That is some depth and blend of youngsters and veterans for the infield. 

A fully healthy Mets squad typically leaves Guillorme on the bench with more power threats in the lineup. Their entire starting infield is under contract through next season and Guillorme will more than likely serve as their utility middle infielder. “Luismi” has been better when he has received more playing time throughout his career. 

But make no mistake. His defense, plate discipline, and contact hitting have been outstanding this year, and has been everything the Mets could have hoped for, and rewarded the Mets front office for building a deep roster. He has earned more playing time as his bat woke up following an early season slump.  

But with two of the Mets’ top prospects knocking on the door of the show over the next 12 to 15 months, will Guillorme be the odd man out? The next two months will play a big deal in how the Mets handle a lenghty infield roster this winter. 

3) With many Mets bullpen uncertainties next season, Colin Holderman seeks to be a certainty for Buck Showalter next season. 

Colin Holderman has been someone that has impressed from the moment he made his debut on May 15. In 14 appearances, he sports a 2.25 ERA and a 2.30 FIP over 16.0 innings pitched with 9.6 strikeouts per nine frames. By some measures, he has been the Mets’ best reliever not named Edwin Diaz, which says something given he was not in the majors until a couple of months ago. 

Holderman's off-speed pitches have been superb this year. Between his cutter, slider, and changeup, opponents have gone just 2-for-26 with 14 strikeouts and no extra base hits with whiff rates over 40 percent.  

Holderman should be part of the inner circle of Buck Showalter’s throughout the season, but it is not because Showalter is utilizing Adam Ottavino and Seth Lugo in high leverage situations late in games to bridge the game to Edwin Diaz. 

But Holderman’s performance should be noteworthy for planning next year’s team because depending on how the Mets build their bullpen next season, Holderman will look to continue to pitch well.  

The Mets will see five of their top relief pitchers test free agency after the season, and much uncertainty remains for the Mets bullpen. But Holderman’s value for this team going forward will continue to increase with each scoreless outing (which 12 of his 14 appearances so far were).