3 Mets players already on the roster bubble

2) NY Mets roster spot in jeopardy: Stephen Nogosek is in the same spot as Dennis Santana

The story isn’t much different for Stephen Nogosek except we know him much more than we do Santana. A carryover from last year’s team, Nogosek was in competition this spring alongside some of the other non-optional relievers. The Mets decided to at least start the year with him on the club. It made sense. See what you can get and if things don’t work out, move on.

The leash on Nogosek should be similar to the one on Santana. The pair are essentially competing against each other and maybe even the far more seasoned veteran Tommy Hunter. All three were question mark Opening Day roster decisions. Hunter’s spot does seem a little bit safer. Maybe it’s just familiarity and a thicker resume that has me feeling this way.

Fair or not, Nogosek could see his time with the Mets end simply because he isn’t pitching well enough and the bullpen needs a fresh arm. The team doesn’t even have any reasonable position players they could demote. Given this, Buck Showalter has to be especially careful with his bullpen usage.

Interestingly, the Mets don’t have any true long-man on their roster either. Elieser Hernandez was an obvious candidate but an injury to begin the year removed him from the equation. The team’s starters will need to make sure they consistently go deep enough in games to save a couple of outs.