3 prospects the Mets should have protected from the Rule 5 Draft

2) Coleman Crow

While Jackson took off in the Mets organization after the team acquired him, Crow has yet to appear in a game in the Mets minor league system. He underwent Tommy John Surgery which knocked him out for this season with the exception of just four starts, and could miss all of next season as well.

Crow's injury might make some think teams will avoid him, but I actually think it'll be the exact opposite. This gives opposing teams the opportunity to stash him essentially for free.

In the offseason, the 60-day IL does not exist. Everyone who was on the 60-day IL has to be added to the 40-man roster. While that's how things work in the offseason, players on the 60-day IL do not have to be on the 40-man roster once Spring Training begins. With Crow likely out for the entire season, if a team selects him he can just spend the year in which he'd have to be on the MLB roster on the IL and then resume pitching in the minor leagues in 2025.

The Mets have 33 players on their 40-man roster after adding Jackson. They had plenty of room to add Crow throughout the offseason, and on the off-chance that they don't, they could've traded or waived him if they wanted to use him to open a spot.

The 22-year-old is far from a household name as he ranks 29th on the Mets prospect list according to MLB Pipeline, but he clearly has some value as he was the main player the Mets received in the Eduardo Escobar trade and is one of the organization's top 30 prospects. It's possible he goes unclaimed, but this feels like roster mismanagement.