Time travel devices will be created to undo such roster selections.
The New Yor Mets can be fairly criticized for the limited scope of several of their summer transactions. Several of the additions to the Mets roster, although admirable in their own right, have regrettably closed the door on other signings in the closing weeks of free agency.
Think of these three roster choices as instances where the Mets were found trying to prevent themselves from taking a different, potentially even better action.
1) Joey Wendle’s signing took several possibilities for the competition at third base.
The Mets may want to wish they could undo this action. Foresight would have been necessary to prevent it. Joey Wendle was merely a small improvement over Luis Guillorme at the time. Now that he can outhit Brett Baty, he should be much more likely to start games and make many trips to third base for the defense.
The problem with having Wendle on the team is that it made it nearly impossible for the team to recruit Gio Urshela or another infield player. After Ronny Mauricio had an ACL injury, Urshela became necessary. However, any plausible pitch the Mets could have made to Urshela was stolen away by the redundancy of having two lighter-hitting infielders with strong defensive abilities with Wendle already present.
The Mets may now suggest, “Maybe you can get some starts at third base.” Who would want an employer to say “maybe”? For good reason, those speculations about him visiting Queens have cooled down. This is simply not a good enough opportunity.
This winter, the Mets have been eager to bring in guys with strong defensive skills. Several of them have been added to the major league roster. Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Iglesias, two minor league signings, will strengthen them even more. Wendle is a reliable defender, but his play has declined lately. The Mets might frequently have to decide between defense and offense, perhaps neither at times, in light of the new uncertainties surrounding third base.
2) Offering a non-optional contract to Bickford Phil stops the bullpen.
The decision by Stearns to provide a contract to Phil Bickford wasn’t all that bad. He had a great year-end. Keeping Bickford on board was a wise move because he was younger and more controlled than most of the free agents they could have recruited.
Bickford’s choice to forfeit his minor league options and face immediate DFA risk is concerning. An area of concern with the Mets’ summer roster building has been how limited their ability to move relievers from the majors to the minors has become. Only Kodai Senga and Shintaro Fujinami are eligible for minor league options among the pitchers. If the Mets ever needed a sixth starter or merely a new arm, that would be a constraint.
The number of arms the Mets added to the bullpen in such a short amount of time was unexpected. We sat here all winter long believing that Jorge Lopez and Michael Tonkin were the biggest among them. Fujinami, Jake Diekman, and Adam Ottavino altered the viewpoint entirely.
Interestingly, the Mets currently have too many relief pitchers on the roster. Tonkin and Bickford cannot be on the same roster. Sean Reid-Foley, a clear DFA candidate, and Yohan Ramirez, who was acquired through a trade with the Chicago White Sox, cannot both be included.
What Stearns is doing is clear. He can hang onto as many arms as the 40-man roster will allow him to since the final roster decisions don’t have to be made until Opening Day. There is going to be injuries. However, later this year, there will undoubtedly be some commotion as a result of multiple guys being lost for nothing. The first step was to retain Bickford, whose tenure with the Mets is coming to an end.
3) The addition of Harrison Bader prevented several outfield prospects from joining the Mets.
Harrison Bader’s performance as a player has some red flags. Throughout his career, the man’s health hasn’t been the best. At $10.5 million, adding him to the Mets roster would essentially guarantee that he would be more than just a fourth outfielder. Bader could be a great left-hander, but you don’t pay a man that much money to play exclusively against left-handed pitchers.
In some respects, this reminds me of last year. Free agents were aware that Daniel Vogelbach would be the Mets’ first pick at second base. Many failed to see how joining the Mets would help them if playing time wasn’t such a clear reward. Tommy Pham showed courage by signing with the Mets and earning more playing time. So far this year, no one has been willing to accept the same challenge. Do the Mets really care that much?
The Mets can make some room on the roster for Brett Baty, DJ Stewart, and Mark Vientos, but those are the only three positions. It’s anticipated that the two children will split time at third base, with Baty putting in the most effort. Stewart is headed for the bench and is optional for the minors. Even though the bulk of his success came in a single month last year, he had the best season of the entire year, thus that shouldn’t have resulted in a demotion. Right now, the Mets won’t have much difficulty replacing him in free agency. He’s a left-handed power bat.
Tyrone Taylor’s success on defense makes Bader’s presence on the same team somewhat unnecessary. Compared to Bader, he is a considerably more balanced and better hitter. The Mets’ greatest significant holding back is this particular signing.