3 Mets players in danger of losing their 40-man roster spot by June 1

3) NY Mets need to see more from Dominic Leone to justify his stay

Picked up this month, Dominic Leone has the potential to stick around for a while. He had some good years recently. His best was in 2021 when he was 4-5 with a 1.51 ERA out of the bullpen for the San Francisco Giants. His 2023 sample size is too small to make any immediate judgment.

Leone is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 5.2 innings of work for the Mets. He took the loss in Game 1 on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. Nothing about his performance has been particularly captivating. He does throw strikes but isn’t striking guys out.

Leone has yet to appear in a win for the Mets. All five of his appearances were in the sixth inning or later in a loss for this team. He hasn’t struck anyone out over the last three appearances and as little as numbers like that have to do with deciding to keep or cut him, it could be a sign of some trouble ahead.

The one advantage Tommy Hunter may have over Leone is the ability to throw multiple innings. We did see Leone get through two frames in Sunday’s loss which definitely helped save the bullpen a little bit. Between Hunter and Stephen Nogosek, there are enough shaky relievers already on the roster who can do what Leone has so far.