3 Mets players who have no business being on the postseason roster

2) NY Mets bullpen has better options than Mychal Givens

Mychal Givens is another one of the questionable trade deadline acquisitions the Mets made that hasn’t worked out so well. A bad debut for the Mets back in August has been tempered slightly. However, the feeling around Givens isn’t so positive. He isn’t the late-inning, high-leverage kind of relief pitcher the Mets needed to add. If anything, he is just an innings eater with experience.

Givens is now buried in the Mets bullpen. In the postseason, with the ability to move starters into relief roles, it’s hard to justify carrying Givens further. They have better options coming off the IL as well. Where exactly would he fit in?

We can’t even claim Givens would be a decent enough guy to pitch in blowouts. The Mets have Trevor Williams for that and could even decide to have David Peterson on their postseason roster for that role.

This leaves very few justifications to make Givens a part of the 26-man roster in the playoffs. It’s in the postseason when everyone should have a role. Givens, being untrustworthy and a one-inning per appearance option, just doesn’t fit. He can easily be replaced by a number of pitchers the Mets have within the organization. Tylor Megill’s ability to pitch multiple innings alone should make him a better option.

3) NY Mets can’t trust Joely Rodriguez in a big spot

Joely Rodriguez has somehow lasted all year as a member of the Mets. Because they traded for him right before Opening Day, they must have felt an obligation to push forward and hope things changed. Was his track record in the major leagues not enough for them to realize he wasn’t the best lefty reliever option for them?

The Mets have ignored this role all year long and did nothing at the trade deadline to correct it. As important as a lefty reliever can be, Rodriguez just doesn’t get lefties out enough to justify keeping him on the postseason roster even for very limited appearances.

David Peterson would be the only other lefty with a realistic shot to be on the postseason roster. Because he can also go longer and deeper into games, asking him for the occasional one batter appearance to end an inning might make more sense for the Mets.

Better yet, how essential is it to even waste a roster spot on a lefty you cannot trust? Enough of the righty relievers the Mets have could be good enough to get big outs for them regardless of the handedness of the batters.

Though limited with the number of southpaws they can carry with them on the postseason roster, it’s clear that Peterson in a unique sometimes one-batter/other times multiple inning role would make much more sense than a wasted roster spot on Rodriguez—especially if you’re going to have Terrance Gore doing nothing but pinch run.