Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 smaller roster decisions paying off early

New York Mets spring training was abundantly tame this year because of the lack of major roster decisions. Most of the notable ones were smaller choices they could just as easily reverse. An example: choosing DJ Stewart over Mark Vientos.

Small decisions like this one have worked out well for the team regardless of how long it took for Stewart to start hitting. Expanding even beyond those Opening Day roster decisions, these three smaller ones from the winter seem to be paying off big.

1) Keeping journeyman Reed Garrett around

Find someone who demanded the Mets keep Reed Garrett around this offseason and I’ll find you one or two liars. One of those liars being the person who demanded it, the other possibly being the one who found this first liar.

Garrett was an irrelevant part of the 2023 Mets. His forgettable 17 innings spanning 9 appearances resulted in a 5.82 ERA. The veteran journeyman was bound to get DFA’d eventually but thank goodness he wasn’t.

Garrett may have only stuck with the Mets because of his remaining minor league option which was used before we got to spring training. Upon seeing they needed to improve the bullpen, Garrett was promoted and has been one of the best pitchers on the club.

It’s unprecedented how good Garrett has been. Although limited in big league action prior to joining the Mets, he never had a season ERA below the 6.41 he had in 2023 split between his time with the Mets and Baltimore Orioles.

Garrett has gained our trust and a whole lot of leash to have a bad day on the mound. He deserves 99% of the credit for this career turnaround. Hand the other 1% to those who had enough faith in him to not look for an upgrade. Chances are they wouldn’t have found one.