Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Dissecting the Mets 40-Man

Here is what the Mets 40-Man Roster looked like on September 28th, the final day of the regular season:

PLAYER
POS
2011 STATUS
PLAYER
POS
2011 STATUS
Jose Reyes
SS
Free Agent
Chris Capuano
SP
Free Agent
Ruben Tejada
2B/SS
Pre-arb (1 opt)
Jon Niese
SP
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Willie Harris
OF
Free Agent
Chris Schwinden
SP
Pre-arb (3 opt)
David Wright
3B
1+yrs ($16M+)
Miguel Batista
SP
Free Agent
Nick Evans
1B/OF
Pre-arb (0 opt)
Bobby Parnell
RP
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Josh Thole
C
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Manny Acosta
RP
1st x Arb
Josh Satin
INF
Pre-arb (3 opt)
Jason Isringhausen
RP
Free Agent
Jason Pridie
OF
Pre-arb (0 opt)
Tim Byrdak
RP
1 yr ($?M)
Mike Nickeas
C
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Danny Herrera
RP
Pre-arb (0 opt)
Ronny Paulino
C
3rd x Arb
Josh Stinson
RP
Pre-arb (3 opt)
Mike Baxter
1B/OF
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Pedro Beato
RP
Pre-arb (3 opt)
Lucas Duda
1B/OF
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Ryota Igarashi
RP
Free Agent
Val Pascucci
1B
Pre-arb (0 opt)
Dale Thayer
RP
Pre-arb (0 opt)
Justin Turner
INF
Pre-arb (2 opt)
D.J. Carrasco
RP
1 yr ($1.2M)
Jason Bay
LF
2+yrs ($35M+)
Jordany Valdespin
SS
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Scott Hairston
OF
Free Agent
Zach Lutz
3B
Pre-arb (2 opt)
Angel Pagan
CF
4th x Arb
Fernando Martinez
OF
Pre-arb (1 opt)
Mike Pelfrey
SP
2nd x Arb
Jenrry Mejia
SP
Pre-arb (1 opt)
Dillon Gee
SP
Pre-arb (3 opt)
Manny Alvarez
RP
Pre-arb (2 opt)
R.A. Dickey
SP
1+yrs ($4.6M)
Arman. Rodriguez
SP
Pre-arb (2 opt)
PLAYERS ON 60-DAY DL:  Johan Santana (SP) 2yrs+ ($55M+), Ike Davis (1B) pre-arb (3 opt), Daniel Murphy (INF) pre-arb (2 opt), Taylor Buchholz (RP) 4th x Arb, Chris Young (SP) Free Agent

Since the end of the season the Mets have had to make several moves to get ready for the off-season.  The following players were removed from the 40-Man roster:

Free Agents:  Jose Reyes, Willie Harris, Scott Hairston, Chris Capuano, Miguel Batista, Jason Isringhausen, Chris Young

Designated for Assignment:  Nick Evans (FA), Jason Pridie (FA), Val Pascucci (FA), Ryota Igarashi (FA), Dale Thayer (FA), Manny Alvarez (FA), Taylor Buchholz (non-tendered)

The removal of these players from the 40-Man roster along with the activation of the players from the 60-day DL puts the Mets current roster size at 31.  Of the players removed from the roster, Pascucci has signed a minor league deal with the Mets for the 2012 season, while Pridie has signed a minor league deal with Oakland.

The removal of Buchholz from the roster leaves the number of arbitration eligible players on the Mets at four.  The remaining players include Mike Pelfrey, Angel Pagan, Ronny Paulino, and Manny Acosta.  If the Mets decide to non-tender any of the four, they will become free agents and the Mets will have an additional spot on the 40-Man roster to protect Rule 5 eligible minor leaguers or sign free agents.  The deadline for tendering contracts to arbitration eligible players is December 12th, four days after the Rule 5 draft.

In addition to the major league free agents, the Mets had 26 other minor league free agents that must be resigned or replaced by other players.  So far two of those players have signed on with other organizations as Salomon Manriquez went to the Dodgers and Michael O’Connor went to the Yankees.  In addition to Pascucci, the Mets have brought in one other minor league free agent in 32 yr old Vinny Rottino.  Both are expected to start the season at AAA Buffalo.

The Mets have until December 5th to decide on the players to protect in the Rule 5 draft, which takes place the final day of the Winter Meetings on December 8th.  Last year the Mets selected 2B Brad Emaus from Toronto and RHP Pedro Beato from Baltimore.  The Mets returned Emaus to Toronto at the end of May, but kept Beato on the active roster the entire season, making him safe to be optioned in 2012 if they deem it necessary.  The Mets also had RHP Elvin Ramirez selected by the Nationals in the draft, but Ramirez was returned to them after the season since he did not spend the required amount of time on the active roster due to a shoulder injury. 

Players who will almost certainly be added to the 40-Man roster before the Rule 5 draft include Kirk Nieuwenhuis (OF), Jeurys Familia (RHP), and Reese Havens (2B).  Others who could be added include top prospects Cesar Puello (OF) and Wilmer Flores (SS), along with Juan Lagares (OF), Robert Carson (LHP), Collin McHugh (RHP), Brad Holt (RHP), Juan Centeno (C), and Jefry Marte (3B).  All players will be available to be taken in the draft if they are not protected by the Mets beforehand. 

Currently the Mets have nine open spots on the 40-Man roster.  However, that does not mean they have nine spots for players they want to protect.  The Mets must leave open roster spots for any free agents they wish to sign to major league contracts along with any players that they would like to take from other teams in the Rule 5 draft.  It is possible that more spots open up during the course of the off-season, as the Mets make decisions about their arbitration eligible players and decide on other players who may not be in the club’s future plans.

Throughout the off-season we will discuss who the Mets are likely to keep and who may not be returning.  Also, we will look at potential free agents and trade targets that the Mets may try to pursue, along with players who could be traded by the Mets.  It’s definitely shaping up to be an interesting hot stove season for the Amazin’s!

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