3 Mets players from the Opening Day roster who could be gone by the All-Star Break
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The New York Mets showed their fans they’ll make the right baseball decisions to have the best roster possible. When they designated Robinson Cano for assignment, every underperformer on the roster should have taken notice.
Nobody’s job is safe this year in Flushing. The team will eat money if they have to in order to have the best roster possible.
By the time the All-Star Break rolls around, these three members of the Mets could already be gone.
NY Mets roster may need an improvement over Chasen Shreve
Chasen Shreve is not invincible. Although well-liked and in the same category for many as someone like Jerry Blevins, he is not untouchable when it comes to the DFA.
Shreve signed only a minor league contract with the Mets this offseason which means cutting him wouldn’t be a costly move whatsoever. He does have time to turn things around but a better left-handed reliever should be in the team’s future.
Throughout the offseason, one of the most obvious needs for the ball club was to add a high-leverage lefty reliever. The team waited until after the lockout to sign Shreve then made a trade with the New York Yankees for Joely Rodriguez. Rodriguez has always had the advantage over sticking with the Mets longer because of this. Also younger and with more control, he’s someone who would naturally get a slightly longer leash. He has figured things out and to the surprise of anyone who stopped watching the Mets after the first few weeks, might indeed be the better option from the left side out of the bullpen.
It’s not inconceivable for the Mets to carry three lefties and keep both Rodriguez and Shreve around. However, some struggles from Shreve could have the team looking to upgrade.
NY Mets roster needs Trevor Williams right now but might not in a few weeks
Trevor Williams gives the Mets some nice pitching depth in the bullpen and starting rotation. An experienced starter who has found his way into the long man role for the Mets at the start of this season, he is getting an opportunity to start a little more frequently because of the team’s injuries.
This could continue for as long as the team is without some of its featured starters. Williams is a decent enough swing man to transition from the bullpen to the rotation and give Buck Showalter four innings or so.
For Williams, if he is underperforming and others look to be better options, he could see himself getting designated for assignment. A little more costly than Shreve, odds are far less in favor of this occurring. Plus, it never hurts to have more starting pitching depth or at least a reliever able to eat up some innings in a blowout.
Williams has been unpredictable for the team this year. It’s understandable. If we knew what he could give them, he would have a more permanent role in the rotation or even out of the bullpen—possibly something closer to what Seth Lugo was able to give them in 2018-2019.
Shreve is far more likely to lose his job on the Mets than Williams because of the number of innings the latter can give them. The last guy on this list, while not a DFA candidate, could still lose his roster spot by means of a demotion.
NY Mets roster needs Dominic Smith less than ever
The Mets are not playing Dominic Smith in the outfield this year which makes him an ill-fit for the team going forward. Pete Alonso has become a much better fielder, eliminating the need to move him to a more permanent DH role and allow Smith to fill in at first base. This likely factored in largely to the team's decision to demote him on May 31.
Far greater than this part of the equation is Smith’s lack of hitting. A fine fielding first baseman, his weak bat does not lend itself to regular starts. Now minus the need for a pinch-hitter every day, Smith is far more expendable.
Fortunately, he does have minor league options which means the Mets won’t have to give up on Smith completely. He can go back to Triple-A and try to figure things out and see if a spot opens up for him in the big leagues again. The other way to remove him from the roster would be to trade him.
A deal involving Smith before the All-Star Break probably won’t happen. Trades that far in advance of the deadline typically involve a bad salary getting dumped—something that could conceivably happen in a Smith trade but at this point probably wouldn’t.
The Mets probably will need to trade Smith at some point but that has been the case for several years now. His demotion signals to the rest of the league how available he is but it might also decrease his value a little more. We'll have to see if he can play his way back to the big leagues or face a trade.
Next. 6 best Mets trades for a minor league player. dark