In the offseason, the Mets have more 40 man roster decisions looming. Here are some notable Mets minor leaguers who will be needed to be added to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft:
- Amed Rosario
- Wuilmer Becerra
- Gavin Cecchini
- Marcos Molina
- Paul Sewald
- Travis Taijeron
- Jeff McNeil
- Phillip Evans
- Champ Stuart
- Ricky Knapp
- Tomas Nido
- Chris Flexen
There are many other roster choices the Mets will have to make aside from the aforementioned players. With that the Mets are going to have to make some tough 40 man decisions. With the Mets refusal to call-up Rafael Montero, he certainly stands to be one of the first people cut from the roster. With that in mind, isn’t it in the Mets best interests to find out what they have in him?
At this point in his career, Montero was supposed to be a fixture in the Mets rotation, or at the very least, a part of the Mets bullpen. Instead, he is stuck in AA, and he appears on his way out of the Mets organization.
The beginning of the end was last year when he complained of a shoulder injury after being demoted. The Mets insisted he should be able to pitch through it while Montero stated he couldn’t. It led to Terry Collins giving him a pep talk during a Mets road trip to Miami last August. Collins then lectured Montero in Spring Training about how he needed to step it up; how it was supposed to be him instead of Bartolo Colon for the fifth spot. Montero wouldn’t make it out of the first inning in his first Spring Training start, and he would be part of the first group of players demoted to Minor League Spring Training.
Due to a short Steven Matz start and a taxed bullpen, Montero would get called up to pitch out of the bullpen. Even in obvious situations to use him, Collins refused. Montero would go over a week without pitching a game, and when he did pitch, Montero would show his rust. In his two appearances, he pitched 2.1 innings with an alarming 11.57 ERA. Montero would be demoted. It wouldn’t be his last demotion.
After going 4-6 with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.888 WHIP in 16 AAA starts, he was sent down to AA where he has thrived. In eight starts, Montero has gone 4-2 with a 1.70 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. It is the best Montero has pitched in his professional career. Arguably, Montero has become the Mets best minor league pitcher. Still, the Mets have routinely passed him over.
When Matt Harvey went down for the season, the Mets turned to Logan Verrett. When Verrett proved he couldn’t be a starting pitcher at the major league level, the Mets went to Jon Niese and his 5.20 ERA to take the fifth spot. The Mets chose a struggling Gabriel Ynoa as insurance for Niese. When Steven Matz first had his start skipped, the Mets went with Seth Lugo in the rotation. Now that Matz is on the disabled list, Lugo is firmly in the rotation, and the Mets called up Robert Gsellman to be the insurance policy for both Niese and Lugo in the rotation.
The Mets didn’t even so much as call-up Montero to take Ynoa’s or Gsellman’s spot in the AAA rotation. They didn’t go to Montero for a spot start or to go back to the bullpen. The Mets went with Ynoa and Gsellman despite them not being relievers and with Montero having experience as a reliever. It’s likely the Mets won’t turn to Montero unless there is another rash of injuries to the pitching staff, and perhaps not even then. It is possible the Mets will call him up September 1st, but given Collins apparent unwillingness to use him, it’s extremely doubtful he will even appear in a game.
Fact is Montero is done with the Mets, and he is merely occupying a very valuable 40 man roster spot. A roster spot the Mets could have used to protect Dario Alvarez, a very valuable reliever the Mets lost for nothing. A roster spot the Mets will need to protect a prospect who still has a future with the team. Montero has no future with the Mets, and the Mets aren’t even going to see what they have in him before he leaves the team.
And when they call him up next week you’ll be writing…..what?
Dario Alvarez was a bust here, he went to the pressure-less atmosphere of Atlanta and did well and so far has busted again in Texas where the games, you know, count. If they had protected him last year you would have flipped out, please.
Wow that is a bevy of potential talent that needs to be protected. In my opinion the no brainers are as follows:
Amed Rosario
Wuilmer Becerra
Gavin Cecchini
Marcos Molina
Tomas Nido
Phillip Evans
Not Sure
Paul Sewald
Travis Taijeron
Chris Flexen
Champ Stuart
Probably Not
Jeff McNeil
Ricky Knapp
Sometimes these discussions are just plain silly. I agree with Ronnie Mac that no more than the six he highlights are worth protecting. Sorry Matt Bowman was not protected last year.
How was Alvarez a bust?
With the shoulder injury, you can probably gamble on Becerra not being picked up. With respect to Nido, he hasn’t played in AA yet. I’m confident they don’t need to put him on the 40 man.
I like Taijeron, but there’s no need to put him on the 40 man, especially with the Mets OF depth.
Are you serious? Did you watch last year? This team basically had open auditions for a lefty after Blevins got hurt. Alvarez was a complete failure every time. Just like he’s been in Texas this year.
You must’ve missed the part where he got injured and he tried to pitch through it.
Also, are we really drawing conclusions from two appearances with the Rangers?
Taijeron won’t get protected and I think at this point Stuart would be a surprise to me. I would protect Sewald for sure and tough not to protect Evans witht year he’s had.
He was a failure way before he got hurt. And i can only go off what he’s done in Texas so far, failure again. When do you want me to hit you back on here, when he has 5 more miserable appearances? 10? He sucks.
He wasn’t a bust, Mets simply made a mistake in trying to slip him through waivers.
2014 #1 overall pick in the rule 5 draft was a catcher that had solid defensive numbers and a .240 average in A ball. Nido needs to be added
Same thing with Jesus Flores, these things never work out for the teams that take the player. It completely stunts their development, and they never reach their potential. Overall, I have no issue exposing Nido. Mets have catching depth with d’Arnaud and Plawecki.
As for Becerra, you make a very good point. However, I do think the surgery will scare enough teams away. Also, I do not think teams will be able to effectively keep him on the DL for a full season.
Sure, that strikeout of Bryce Harper was horrible. Mets should have cut him after that.
You seriously want to cherry pick appearances? You’re a joker. Why not his performance the year before against Washington? Why not his performances a week later? Oh, because he did what he always does, fail?
Rafael Montero has clearly been a major disappointment, BUT the are other players who will be removed from the 40 man roster before Montero. Among pitcher, I there is Edgin, Henderson, Niese and Verrett. Among non-pitchers, I would not expect to see DeAza, Ty Kelly, Loney, Ruggiano or Campbell to be on the 40-man roster next season.
With him having so few major league appearances all you can do is cherry pick. That’s the point.
Hey Rocky, we see eye to eye on a lot, but I would not bet on Montero over Henderson or Verrett, or even Edgin for that matter.
You can’t call anyone a bust, based on 5 innings. Still don’t understand why they don’t bring up Montero. Even if they won’t protect him. give him a shot and maybe someone will be interested enough to trade for him. What do we have to lose?
As it looks now he might be a better option then Lugo or what’s left of Niese. I’m excited about Gsellman’s starting in John’s place.
IMO Montero has more value than the other pitchers I mentioned. No doubt Montero has disappointed many times, but he seems to have found something in Binghamton. The PCL has messed with many pitchers and Montero may be a prime example. I view Henderson and even Edgin as veteran pitchers a team can pick up for a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. I still think Montero has more upside than Verrett and Verrett has been passed or is being passed by Lugo, Gsellman and Ynoa. Maybe Montero end up being included in an off season trade?
I’ve always been a Montero fan. Disappointed by his struggles and in particular his struggles with the mental side of the game. But I am not writing him off, particularly as a reliever where I think he could really thrive.
But in assessing value, its hard for me to value him as more than he has been. Not saying you are wrong, but I think the combination of his lack of performance at the MLB level (and in AAA), coupled with his solid, but not overpowering stuff, limits his value.
Henderson has a few years of control and considering the injury he was coming off, it seems like he has established a nice foundation for future success. He was our 7th inning guy for a good stretch this year before hitting the DL. Think there is more value in that (and given his past success pre-TJS) than Montero’s yet-to-be-realized potential. Similar thinking on Edgin – coming off TJS, but has already pitched successfully in the MLB and for the Mets.
In the end, it probably is simply a matter of preference. I could see this FO (and others) look at it either way – just think its more likely they will view Montero with a very cautious eye.
I did not realize Henderson was controllable so you may have changed my mind regarding him. As you said, there will be some close call and it comes down to a matter of preference.
Just checked. Just starting his arb years next year, so 3 more years of control. Does not become a free agent until after the 2019 season. Nice pick up by the Mets, as I think he’ll be even better next year.
Really feel they need to protect Becerra he had a good year with the bat minus power. He is a good bet to become a good outfielder and when the shoulder heals the power will return. They got away leaving him unprotected last year not sure it would be wise to do it again. Believe he has shown enough for other teams to grab him in the rule 5 draft.
I’m not sure teams will jump at a corner OF who has yet to develop power, hasn’t played in AA, and now has had major shoulder surgery.
What kind of surgery did he have to the shoulder ? Not sure if it was ever said what the injury was to his shoulder. Can see your point about teams staying away because of the surgery. But would really like to know what was wrong with his shoulder.
Repair a torn labrum
I thought Montero would get a September call up, but with all of the injuries he gets a start on Monday. Should be interesting to see how Montero responds.
Agreed. Very interesting. Seems like such a wild card. Past performance would suggest he would not succeed, but I would not be surprised if he pitched a quality start. Most curious to see (1) if he trusts his stuff and his defense, or if he tries nibbling too much, which could be telling about his own confidence and (2) how he battles when an inevitable tougher inning occurs. Still think the old Bull Durham line applies to him – “don’t think, it can only hurt the team”. He should just go out there and trust his catcher, trust his stuff, trust his defense and just look to have catch with his catcher, hitting the spots
And guess who is getting called up, just like I predicted last week.
You were spot on with your concerns. Montero walked 6 batters and shook off the catcher many times. But overall it was a successful performance. Interesting to see if he can build off of this performance.
You’re definitely right and his pitching last night certainly supports your belief in his potential.
Hopefully, Warthen is making it clear to Montero that in order to succeed, he needs to trust his catcher and himself more. Thought it was particularly telling that he was throwing all three pitches in the first inning – seems like he does not trust getting hitters out solely on his FB command. don’t think that is a bad thing – in fact, it shows some good self-awareness as his FB can be a little flat at times – but it may go back to his needing to have more confidence in his stuff, catcher and defense.
I wonder if he’ll get another start? Guess it depends upon the health of Matz, deGrom and Syndergaard. Maybe he gets a spot start in September.
It is now 16 days later and Montero has had mixed result in his two starts. Would you still take Henderson, Verrett and Edgin over Montero for the 40-man roster?
I didn’t mean to imply that I ever definitively would. Just that I wouldn’t bet on the FO keeping him over some other potentially useful pitchers. It simply was not clear (and remains unclear) to me whether it was just TC or the FO which lost faith in Mobtero. Even as a fan, I had my concerns as I shared.
That said, I think Montero has at acquitted himself well enough to get some wind behind him. Will it be enough, particularly with the struggles of the other 3 mentioned? Right now it seems so, but the real answer probably remains “Maybe”
Bottom line, just not clear exactly what the FO thought before and what it thinks now. But as you seem to feel (and I agree), Montero’s recent performance has certainly helped his cause. It remains a very interesting situation.
What is your take on it Rocky – I mean in terms of his likely future use with this team and what do you think of Lugo and Gsellman’s impact on that?
I think we actually agree on Montero. It may be I have a lower regard for the other three pitchers. IMO Henderson has almost no value or upside. Edgin could have value if he regains his velocity, but I think Smoker makes him expendable. Verrett has some value and probably has a higher floor than Montero, but I think he has already been passed by Lugo and Gsellman and possibly by Gilmartin and Ynoa which makes Verrett’s value to the Mets negligible. Montero’s upside is more important than Verrett’s floor.
As for 2017, I think that Gsellman’s most likely role will be first starting pitcher call up from AAA and Lugo will be the long-man/spot starter for the Mets.
Ha. Think we agree on all. Edgin a inability to regain cello and effectiveness may have doomed him especially with the emergence of Smojer as you say. Still think Henderson has value. Feel like Ynoa is less talented than Montero though with a little more mental toughness but not enough movement to be consistently effective.
Would love to see Montero get more and more comfortable pitching in the MLB. Think he can be an invaluable part of the back end of the BP if he can regain his stellar control.
Agree.
Hey Rocky,
What are your thoughts on tonight’s game. I have a pit in my stomach for Montero. Just seems like this will be a tough lineup for him. If he can pitch effectively tonight, feel like that will be a huge boost to both his confidence and status with the team. It’s just a little scary to me.
Another big game and opportunity for Montero. Like you, I am not sure what to expect. Montero has not been hit hard in his last two starts, but has given up way to many walks. It the Mets can score a bunch of runs early, I expect Montero to be more aggressive in the strike zone. I would be happy with 6 innings, three runs and two walks.
So would I. Fingers crossed. Hope we enjoy the game!
Ugh!