Blake Taylor (Ed Delany/MMN)
Barring late changes (and there could be some), 21 Mets minor leaguers will be declared free agents at 5 p.m. ET on the fifth day following the conclusion of the World Series. Three players (Aaron Altherr, Tim Peterson, and Brooks Pounders) have already hit the open market, a luxury afforded to them because they were outrighted off the 40-man roster this past season for the second time in their careers.
Here are the 21 who are scheduled to leave the organization via free agency next month:
INF Arismendy Alcantara
OF Barrett Barnes
OF Gregor Blanco
INF Gavin Cecchini
INF Danny Espinosa
C Dustin Houle
RHP Mickey Jannis
OF Jason Krizan
RHP Zach Lee
OF Rymer Liriano
C Colton Plaia
RHP Darwin Ramos
C Natanael Ramos
INF Walter Rasquin
C Carlos Sanchez
RHP Ervin Santana
OF Travis Taijeron
LHP Blake Taylor
INF Ruben Tejada
RHP Joshua Torres
RHP Adonis Uceta
The names above are easier to digest when broken down into two groups: veterans who were just passing through and the players whose original minor league contracts have reached their natural end.
Blanco, Espinosa, and Santana (among others) served a useful role in filling out the Triple-A Syracuse roster in 2019. Those major league veterans were part of a group brought in to stay on watch as depth for the Mets, who promoted the likes of Rajai Davis, Carlos Gomez, Hector Santiago, and Rene Rivera at various points throughout the season.
Meanwhile, Cecchini, Plaia, both Ramos’, Rasquin, Sanchez, and Uceta have never known another organization. Cecchini is the most notable name, as a former first-round draft pick who was outrighted off the major league 40-man roster last winter. Uceta, when healthy, has shown flashes of excellence throughout his minor league career and should find a job somewhere after posting a 1.44 ERA in 54.1 Double-A innings.
The most interesting case to monitor is that of Taylor, the left-hander acquired from the Pirates for Ike Davis all the way back in 2014, who finally found success in the bullpen in 2019 after three seasons in rookie ball and two as an uninspiring starter.
Taylor, who was still just 23 for most of 2019, steamrolled through St. Lucie and Binghamton and earned an appearance with Triple-A Syracuse at the end of the season. In 66.2 total innings, Taylor recorded a 2.16 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 24 walks.
The Mets sent Taylor to the Arizona Fall League this month despite his status as an impending free agent. Armed with a fastball that now ticks up to 96 mph, he’s allowed just two runs in eight innings, striking out 11 and walking only two.
Should the Mets want to keep Taylor in the organization (and, in my opinion, they should), they will have to add him to the 40-man roster before 5 p.m. on the fifth day following the conclusion of the World Series. While this doesn’t happen often (typically if a player is worthy of being added to the 40-man roster the team would have done so long before he was up for minor league free agency), the Mets last added a player of this type in 2015 when they selected the contract of Josh Smoker on November 5.
