The roster is starting to get trimmed down as we get closer to Opening Day.
The Mets are getting closer and closer to actual regular season baseball, and that means that they have to begin trimming their roster down to figure out which 25 men will appear at Citi Field on Opening Day. That process started today as the team sent fifteen players to minor league camp. Perhaps the most noteworthy was Josh Edgin, the left-handed reliever who was considered to have a decent chance at making the team.
Edgin made 34 appearances for New York last season, pitching 28.2 innings with 20 strikeouts and 12 walks and a 3.77 ERA. Those aren't mind-blowing numbers, but competent lefties are also in demand, especially in a division like the NL East that features sluggers such as Chase Utley, Bryce Harper, and Freddie Freeman. Now it appears that Scott Rice may be the only left-handed reliever on the Mets' Opening Day roster, although John Lannan is still in play for either a rotation or bullpen role.
The other players cut from major league camp on Monday were Chasen Bradford, John Church, Erik Goeddel, Adam Kolarek, Jack Leathersich, Steven Matz, Logan Verrett, Wilfredo Tovar, Kevin Plawecki, Danny Muno, Dustin Lawley, Brandon Nimmo, Cory Vaughn, and Cesar Puello.
Of those players, Leathersich is an interesting name because, like Edgin, he is a left-handed arm, and a powerful one at that. However, it seems his struggles with his control at Triple-A last year have convinced management that he needs more seasoning.
Tovar is also worth mentioning because he plays shortstop, a position of need for the Mets. The seven MLB games he played last September, however, don't make up for the fact that he has never hit minor league pitching all that well.
