3 players who could sneak onto the 40-man roster by Opening Day

2) The NY Mets could turn to Abraham Almonte for outfield depth

Journeyman outfielder Abraham Almonte landed with the Mets this offseason on a minor league deal. He has 455 MLB games under his belt spanning parts of 10 different seasons. He spent last year with the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers organizations. He ripped apart Triple-A pitchers, slashing .293/.417/.534 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI.

If you’re familiar with Almonte, you’ll know he’s not bound to do anything close in the majors. He’s a lifetime .235/.302/.374 hitter at the MLB level. Already 33, he’s not about to figure things out.

The ongoing accusations against Khalil Lee led to him getting designated for assignment by the team on Monday. There is no urgency, at the moment, for the Mets to make a move to replace him with another position player. Sam Coonrod, who they picked up off of waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies, is the replacement at the moment.

Almonte, like many minor league signings, is here for depth. The team hopes they never need to use him. They’re also fully aware at some point they probably will need to for a few weeks.

The outfield depth in the minors is not extensive for this team. As mentioned earlier, Locastro is more of a late-season pinch-runner option and not a guy to carry on the 40-man roster immediately. Almonte is a little different. He’s a better hitter and someone you’d want to help carry you through an extensive period of time.