Mets roster purge at the non-tender deadline was done perfectly

The non-tender deadline on Friday has now passed and the New York Mets roster looks a lot different. With ten players eligible for arbitration, the team decided to non-tender half of those men.

There were the obvious ones, like giving Pete Alonso a contract, and a few others more up for debate. Along with Alonso, the team decided they’ll hold onto Drew Smith, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, and DJ Stewart.

Now gone from the franchise are Daniel Vogelbach, Trevor Gott, Luis Guillorme, Jeff Brigham, and Sam Coonrod.

The Mets made all of the right decisions at the non-tender deadline

Vogelbach was an easy one to pass on. He’s too limited on a major league roster. Then there’s Gott who the team was willing to move on from despite all of the money they paid Chris Flexen to get. Brigham and Coonrod are two of many relievers Billy Eppler signed and didn’t quite have the impact he had hoped.

The one player that hurts from this bunch is Guillorme because of the attachment fans have to him. He has never played for another organization. A fan-favorite off the bench for several years, we got accustomed to his grittiness on the field. He was often slick in the field. At times, he managed to even come up with a couple of important hits.

A lack of minor league options made it a little easier for the Mets to move on from Guillorme whose role with the team seems a little more non-existent. If the team has Ronny Mauricio around, he’s an obvious option to play shortstop during the two days Francisco Lindor doesn’t. The Mets have too many choices at second base than they know what to do with. The same is nearly true over at third base.

The DH spot is now wide open and so is a spot on the bench for a utility man. The bullpen has emptied out more, but for good reason. Now the team has some more flexibility to sign upgrades as opposed to sticking with guys who would have been on the DFA bubble from the start.

David Stearns handled the non-tender deadline to perfection. Even something like keeping Smith was wise. They can’t get rid of every reliever.