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

There will be some 40-man roster action for the New York Mets before Opening Day. Underperformers may be cut. Injuries will play a factor, too.

The Mets do have a couple of non-40-man roster players stashed in the minors who should see MLB action this year. However, guys like Tommy Hunter and Tim Locastro are on minor league deals and until the Mets plan to promote either, holding them back is better.

Plenty of other players could impress the club enough this spring and make their way onto the Opening Day roster. Out of need or because they’ve outshined someone else, these are three of those candidates.

1) The NY Mets could promote Michael Perez under one circumstance

Michael Perez is the third-string catcher for the Mets this year despite not having a 40-man roster spot and the presence of Francisco Alvarez in the organization. It’s clear why the Mets decided they needed this veteran backstop. They’re going to be patient with their star catching prospect and not rush him to the majors.

The catcher tandem of Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido needed some sort of protection. They get it with Perez who, in case of an injury, would be added to the 40-man roster and promoted.

This is the only way Perez would see MLB action. The Mets would have to place someone on the 60-day IL or DFA another player in order to make room. Late spring DFAs are common so if any injury to one of the catchers does happen, expect a reliever to bite the dust.

It’s not a great plan to carry three catchers on your MLB roster. It’s even worse to have just one. Any doubts about the health of either catcher will land Perez on the 40-man roster and immediately place him on the 26-man crew, too.

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.