New York Mets Players Who Will Be Fighting for Roster Spots This Spring

The New York Mets hope to make the MLB playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season, but they will likely have to make some changes to their roster in order to get there.

The Mets have reason to believe in their success and the end of their nine-year playoff drought, especially after a recent projection from FanGraphs predicted NL East rivals Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves as the worst teams in the MLB this season. But the only significant addition to the Mets roster thus far this offseason was free-agent veteran corner outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who is a longtime friend of Mets star David Wright.

“To this point, we just haven't found anything attractive,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told Mets.com (h/t CBS New York). “Given all that, I think we do know a little more now than we did a few weeks ago about what's available.”

The Mets, who ranked 21st in paid attendance last season, according to Forbes.com, have been slow to make other moves—besides the plans for installation on a new center field video display 62 percent larger than the current display. Otherwise, the roster will look fairly similar to last season, when the Mets actually outscored opponents by 12 runs, despite their 79-83 record.  

New York lost virtually no one over the offseason. And they will regain ace pitcher Matt Harvey and valuable relief pitcher Bobby Parnell, who both return to the roster after successful Tommy John surgeries. 

“I still believe when we start spring training, we will have what we currently have,” continued Alderson.

While few have come in, a couple of players could be on the way out. Matt den Dekker, for example, will likely start the season in the minors to make room for other emerging talent. With the addition of John Mayberry Jr., the Mets essentially solidified their depth on the bench. 

But this season, the elephant in the room remains obvious. How will the Mets manage the surplus of talent at the starting pitcher position? And will they look to find an upgrade for Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada at the shortstop position?  

Dillon Gee

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Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and two of Dillon Gee, Jonathan Niese and Bartolo Colon will likely compose one of the best pitching rotations in baseball in 2015.

Harvey, of course, will slide back into the ace role after a stellar campaign in 2013—the former first-round pick finished his most recent active season with a 2.27 ERA, 0.931 WHIP and 9.06 strikeouts per nine innings. He started in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game. 

While Harvey was recovering from injury, Zack Wheeler emerged as a young star in 2014. He recorded 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings and 1.327 WHIP, with 11 wins in 32 starts. Likewise, emerging talent became well-known when Jacob deGrom took home honors for the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year. 

In no particular order, that leaves Dillon Gee, Jonathan Niese and Bartolo Colon in the fourth, fifth and sixth roles with only five spots to fill a starting rotation. None of them would have any purpose in the minor leagues given their MLB experience and wouldn’t likely accept a role in the Mets bullpen if offered the opportunity.

While the latter three are valuable assets to the Mets organization, it’s not feasible to use all three in a five-man rotation. Bryan Zarpentine of Rant Sports writes that Niese lacks value due to health concerns surrounding his shoulder, and that few want to trade for Colon because the 41-year-old comes with an $11 million salary. Of additional note, Niese is currently the only left-handed pitcher in the rotation, and the Mets are hesitant to change that.

According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, when Alderson was asked at the MLB winter meetings if he’d enter spring training with all six, Alderson reportedly replied, “Probably not.”

The same story reports that the Rangers and Rockies both inquired about Gee. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Giants and Padres are reportedly interested as well.

Should Gee or any of the other starters leave Queens, there’s a heap of young talent ready to replace them including Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Rafael Montero, Matt Bowman and Cory Mazzoni.

"I'll be honest, a part of me [just wants to know]," said Gee, during a phone interview with DiComo. "I'm in a weird situation, and you kind of wonder what's going to happen. But at the same time, I think we all sort of know what we're getting into when we play this sport.”

Gee, who has played his entire career for the Mets, finished last season with a 7-8 record and a 4.00 ERA. While his WHIP was a career-best 1.245, his strikeout rate was the worst of his career with just 6.42 per nine innings.

"Obviously, I was disappointed with the way my year ended last year," continued Gee. “I'm doing everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen again."

According to the same report from MLB.com, many MLB executives have compared Gee to starting pitcher Aaron Harang—a veteran who left the Atlanta Braves to sign a $5 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason.

Alderson, who has likely had plenty of opportunity to trade Gee but has yet to pull the trigger, may look to move Gee to the bullpen. There, he would join other converted starters such as closer Bobby Parnell and relievers Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia and Vic Black. Amazin’ Avenue notes that Gee has pitched into the eighth inning just 15 times in 106 career starts.  

At this point, the fate is no longer in Gee’s hands. His future is up to Alderson, and we will all have to wait and see if he will be on the Mets roster come spring.

"I think the Mets are ready for that next step of turning into a playoff team,” Gee told MLB.com. “I would be sad not to be a part of that."

Noah Syndergaard

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Last season, Syndergaard led the Mets minor league organization in strikeouts with 145. He was recently named the second-best right-handed pitching prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.

Then, earlier this week, Syndergaard was named the second-best overall pitching prospect by MLB.com. His fastball reaches 98 mph, and he has an impressive curveball and an improved changeup in his arsenal. His strikeout-to-walk ratio, 3.82, is out of this world. He recorded 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.9 walks per nine innings and only 0.7 home runs per nine innings last year. He’s only 21, but twice he’s already appeared in the MLB Futures Game.

"I feel like I really matured. My stuff got a little better as the season went on because I started using it more, started trusting it,” Syndergaard told ESPN.com.

But if Dillon Gee doesn't get traded, then Syndergaard may not see the MLB roster in 2014. He pitched in the postseason for Las Vegas and elapsed 138 innings and did not get a chance to make his MLB debut.

"Noah had an excellent season, if you look at some of the numbers," said Alderson, according to Danny Knobler of ESPNNewYork.com. "It would have been nice to have him around the club for a month or so."

The report mentions that the Mets could raise his innings up to 185 next year, which would allow him to play a full season for the MLB roster. But with six starters in front of him, this may not be the wisest course of action for his development, considering that Syndergaard was diagnosed with a flexor pronator strain in his right elbow, a precursor to Tommy John surgery, at the end of last season.

The Mets, of course, seem to be in no rush to trade Syndergaard. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, there was recently a deal in place that would bring shortstop Ian Desmond from the Nationals to the Mets. The report, however, says that the Mets balked because they were unwilling to part with Syndergaard.

Where does Syndergaard predict that he will fit in with the impressive Mets rotation next season, especially if Alderson is unable to make a deal for Gee, Niese or Colon?

“I know we have a very solid starting rotation,” Syndergaard told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. “I can only do what's in my control, and that's train my body in the offseason, get off the mound as soon as possible and start working on my craft and go into camp being the best that I can be."

Daniel Murphy, Wilmer Flores

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The reason why I’ve included both Flores and Murphy in the same slide is because one of them has to make the roster. The Mets are too thin at middle infield; it’s a question of which, not both.

The Mets have recently been linked to Rockies star Troy Tulowitzki, according to Marc Carig of Newsday, and Nationals infielder Ian Desmond, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  

Second baseman Daniel Murphy was the only New York Mets player to make the NL All-Star team in 2014. But with Flores and Tejada leaving some unsatisfied, the middle infield in Flushing is often criticized as the weakest part of the roster and may see a change in the 2015 season.

At the end of the 2015 season, Murphy becomes a free agent. As mentioned earlier, he was the only Mets player to make the NL All-Star team in 2014. Murphy, who will make around $8 million this season, is a valuable asset to the roster.  

Flores, his counterpart in the middle infield, was impressive defensively last season. While he showed good arm strength, his range was suspect for the position, and he looked to be a more natural second baseman. Should the Mets move Flores to second base, they’d likely trade Murphy for a shortstop.

The Nationals recently acquired middle infielder Yunel Escobar, which reopened rumors about the Mets targeting Ian Desmond. Murphy, a steal for $8 million, would draw interest from the White Sox, Blue Jays and Tigers—all thin at second base—according to Joseph Sparacio of Amazin’ Avenue.

The Troy Tulowitzki conversations, however, have reached a conclusion. “It’s not happening,” said Charlie Monfort, co-owner of the Colorado Rockies, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.

If the infield stays put, as it looks right now, it’s a different conversation entirely. Where does that leave the middle infield for 2015? Let’s start with the good news for Mets fans: The shortstop position is not as bad as expected.

According to Mike Petriello at FanGraphs, the 2015 Steamer Predictions for shortstop in 2015 have the Mets listed at No. 18 overall—within just a few marks of the No. 13 spot. This operates under the assumption that Flores will get the majority of playing time and Tejada will mainly play backup.

Flores had an impressive September offensively, but even as such, he had an OBP of .286 and a slugging percentage of .378 last season and has been inconsistent in the majors. If Flores slips up and doesn't produce offensively or defensively to expectations, he would likely lose his starting job at shortstop to Ruben Tejada, and Murphy would stay in Queens.

Both will be fighting for their roster spots come the start of the season.  

Bryan Kalbrosky is a writer who has supported the Mets since before he could speak. His work has also been published by The Huffington Post, ESPN Denver, Yahoo Sports and various other publications.

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