Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
With the Mets 40 man roster being full, and the team needing to make two roster moves to add Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello when their signings are official, the team is not in position to make a selection in the Rule 5 Draft. The last time the Mets made a Rule 5 selection was last year when they drafted Kyle Dowdy. Dowdy would be waived and claimed by the Texas Rangers.
The last player selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft who has stuck with the team for an entire season was Sean Gilmartin in 2015. That year, Gilmartin served as the long man on the Mets pennant winning team going 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA, 1.186 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, and an 8.5 K/9.
Coincidentally, 2015 was also the last time the Mets lost a player in the Rule 5 Draft when Matthew Bowman was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. While nothing is certain, there is some expectation the Mets may lose one or more players in the Rule 5 Draft.
One name which has garnered much attention is Shervyen Newton, who struggled last year in Low-A, but given his promising skill set and the addition of a 26th man to Major League rosters, a rebuilding team may been inclined to try to stash him on the roster for a full season in the hopes of gaining a prospect with a big upside.
In addition to Newton, the Mets have some other players who may be taken in the Rule 5 Draft.
Patrick Mazeika has some pop in his bat, and he has continuously improved defensively behind the plate. Ryder Ryan and Matt Blackham have good strikeout numbers as relievers. Harol Gonzalez has the potential as a back of the rotation starter or long man in the pen. There is also the versatile Luis Carpio, who took a step forward last year after dealing with shoulder problems.
While the Mets may not gain any players in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, they are a team who is expected to be active in the Minor League portion of the draft. Last year, the Mets had some success on that front with the team drafting Chris Mazza, who would make his Major League debut last year, and to date, is still on the 40 man roster.
