Mets Set Roster: 8 Relievers, 4 on Bench
The Mets on Saturday set their Opening Day roster. It features eight pitchers in the bullpen and just four players on the bench.
The Mets chose yo go with both Buddy Carlyle and Sean Gilmartin the pen. Carlyle could have turned down a trip to the minors and become a free agent. Gilmartin is a Rule 5 guy and would have had to be offered back to his original team if the Mets tried to send him down. Obviously the Mets did not want to risk losing them.
In the end, it ends up costing Eric Campbell a roster spot. Campbell was a valuable utility man in 2014, and he took up catching this spring to add even more versatility. But the Mets apparently figured having an extra arm early in the season is mine important than the extra bat on the bench.
I don’t know if I agree with the thinking, but if you are going to take a bench spot away, how about finally jettisoning Ruben Tejada once and for all. He is useless. He never should have been tendered a contract, and now the Mes are stuck with him at $1.88 million wasted dollars. Campbell is far better than Tejada at a third of the price.
In the end, though, the Mets fortunes do not rest on Eric Campbell or Buddy Carlyle or Sean Gilmartin or thankfully Ruben Tejada. The starters need to be excellent and the lineup needs to produce. Starting Monday, we’ll find out if that is possible.
It will be interesting to see what happens when Black and Parnell are ready.