3 Mets players who have yet to earn their 40-man roster spot

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The New York Mets 40-man roster has a couple of casualties on the way. They’ll need to get it down to 26 before Opening Day which means some of the Mets we’ve seen playing for them this spring won’t be there to open the season against the Milwaukee Brewers.

A lot goes into those decisions beyond even who deserves to be on the roster or not. Having enough able-bodied players will matter more at times than occupying the 40 roster spots with the best ones you can get.

In other words—not everyone on the 40-man roster deserves it. These three currently have yet to earn their seat. Excluded are players who haven't played yet, such as Kolton Ingram.

1) Zack Short

Infielder Zack Short is one of those players who was never realistically going to make the Mets roster. A gifted defender, he hit .204 in the majors and .195 in the minors last season. In fact, the last time he hit .250 or better in any year was way back in 2017 when he made it no higher than High-A.

Short’s bat isn’t major league-level nor is it even considered a top one in the minors. The lone intrigue about the offensive part of his game is a tendency to draw walks at a relatively high rate. This isn’t enough for the Mets to consider him for their major league roster. There isn’t room anyway as he seemed more protection against an injury, specifically to Joey Wendle.

This spring, Short is hitting .269/.367/.346 through his first 12 games. A pair of doubles plus some steady defense may soon have fans questioning whether the club could carry him on the Opening Day roster. I suppose it’s possible but man would that be a statement if he made the club over Mark Vientos.

A lack of minor league options should have Short on the waiver wire before the season begins. Because of his limitations, he’s someone who could conceivably pass through and accept a minor league assignment.

Short’s spring success plus Vientos’ failure might have the Mets thinking twice about what their infield alignment looks like.

2) Phil Bickford

It hasn’t been a very fun offseason for Phil Bickford. He was the lone Mets player who went to arbitration. Although this process is sometimes taken to a little too much to the extreme, the Mets going to an arbitrator over $80K with Bickford does seem to suggest they aren’t the fondest of him. It’s interesting they even kept him around in the first place when Bickford was a non-tender candidate in the early part of the offseason. Just as Short has lasted this long with the Mets, Bickford’s presence is probably more about having a backup plan in case someone gets hurt.

We’ve already seen Bickford in regular season action for the Mets. He had the opposite results as DJ Stewart. Bickford was bad in August but when the calendar flipped to September, he was a much better pitcher. Even so, he’s not exactly a great fit for the bullpen. If he did somehow make the roster, he’d be on the bubble immediately.

The Mets haven’t turned to Bickford much this spring, allowing him only 3 appearances and 2.2 innings. The result has been a .417 batting average against him and 10.13 ERA. For a player on the fringe of making the team, it’s a bit curious they’ve been as avoidant as they are unless a decision has already been made.

With all of his minor league options exhausted, Bickford has entered future journeyman status. He’s the kind of pitcher who could bounce around with multiple teams in a year. The Mets will have to decide between him, Sean Reid-Foley, and Yohan Ramirez. Bickford has been the worst one this spring.

3) Reed Garrett

Reed Garrett has one thing going for him. He does have minor league options. The veteran righty can give the Mets one player to stash on the farm and call up whenever they need nothing more than a fresh arm. The question will be whether or not there are better choices. There should be already within the organization and others which’ll become available as we get closer to Opening Day.

Garrett has a 7.11 ERA in 44.1 MLB innings. His performance with the Mets last year, in 17 innings of work, resulted in a 5.82 ERA performance.

In spring training action, Garrett has a 3.60 ERA in 5 innings. There isn’t much to read into this. He was never a serious contender to make the team. The question with him comes down to whether or not there are upgrades elsewhere.

It makes sense for the Mets to keep Garrett as long as possible and weigh the alternatives, mostly from outside of the organization. Exciting young players like Nate Lavender aren’t a must to add to the 40-man roster right now. Until the Mets actually need him, they can occupy the space with a pitcher like Garrett.

It’s not impossible to imagine how Garrett lasts the full season on the 40-man roster although if he doesn’t perform, expect David Stearns to have little hesitation to look at a better or younger player to replace him.

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