Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports that 17 Mets minor leaguers are now free agents and can sign with any other organization. They are as follows:

Triple-A (11 Free Agents)

RHP Carlos Alvarado

RHP Greg Burke

RHP Matt Fox

RHP D.J. Mitchell

RHP Daryl Thompson

RHP Cory Wade

LHP Justin Hampson

C Francisco Pena

SS Brian Bixler

SS Brandon Hicks

OF Jamie Hoffmann.

Double-A (6 Free Agents)

RHP Dylan Owen

RHP Armando Rodriguez

C Jeyckol De Leon

SS Josh Rodriguez

1B Rhyne Hughes

3B Richard Lucas.

Almost all of these players were brought in from other organizations in the last two seasons when Sandy Alderson went on a minor league free agent spree to add some depth to the system.

The only players here that I could see coming back are 33-year old Justin Hampson, who has developed a good relationship with the team and is well liked. Hampson has been here twice before and was re-signed by the Mets both times.

It was already reported that the Mets may have some interest in bringing back reliever Greg Burke, but he has drawn interest from at least two other teams who may entice him with a major league deal rather than a minor league deal from the Mets.

Francisco Pena, who just turned 24 last month, could re-sign and return to the Mets. Given the scarcity of catching at the higher levels, the defensive-minded backstop is a good guy to have around as many of the Mets top pitching prospects make their way to Triple-A next season.

Thoughts from Satish R. 

I think that at least a handful of these, Francisco Pena included, will probably re-sign with the Mets organization. It’s a matter of familiarity and some of these depth signings were actually pretty solid for us. For example, I wouldn’t mind re-signing Giancarlo Alvarado to fill a spot in our Triple-A rotation — or at least provide some depth for that team. Remember, Carlos Torres was a mere depth signing last season, and he turned out to be a pretty solid pick-up.

I’d also like to see them bring back Justin Hampson, but I don’t know if he’ll get some offers to compete for an MLB team’s bullpen. We’ll see.

(Photo credit: Gordon Donovan)