1 player the Mets must protect in the Rule 5 Draft

As we look ahead to the offseason, which surprisingly is a mere matter of days away for the New York Mets, one of the items that will be at the forefront for the front office will be the 40-man roster construction. With players on expiring deals, as well as players who may be traded or outright released, the Mets 40-man roster will look much different about a month or so from now.

One area that the Mets front office will have to focus on will be which players they plan on protecting in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft in December. There are plenty of deserving candidates such as Carlos Cortes and Alex Ramirez, among others. However, one player they can absolutely not afford to lose is infielder Jeremiah Jackson who they acquired at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Angels.

The Mets front office must protect Jeremiah Jackson from other ballclubs this winter

Jackson, who has been playing on a loaded team in Double-A Binghamton, has great power potential with his bat which he has shown on multiple occasions in his short stint with the Rumble Ponies. With over 20 home runs and 80 RBI, Jackson has turned into an absolute steal of a prospect after being dealt for reliever Dominic Leone, and the Mets can not afford to let another team poach him this winter.

The Mets have done a phenomenal job in terms of rebuilding their farm system this summer after a disappointing regular season, and Jackson has been a huge part of that with his performance. It's also important to note that Jackson is also not too far off from being Major League-ready, which is what could entice many ballclubs around the league to take a flyer on him in this year's draft.

The Mets could ill-afford to lose any of the top talent they acquired this summer, especially if they are losing players for nothing in exchange, such as the Rule-5 draft. Jeremiah Jackson should be one of the first players the Mets front office adds to the 40-man roster this offseason.