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Soon, the Mets' Opening Day roster will be set.
Opening Day is just a week away, and the Mets’ roster for the first game of the 2014 season looks clearer by the day. Since the last installment of the Make-the-Mets-O-Meter, the Mets have sent several players to minor league camp: Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, Joel Carreno, Ryan Reid, Cory Mazzoni, Miguel Socolovich, Juan Centeno, Brandon Allen, and Matt Clark.
With that, the bullpen seems all but locked in for Opening Day, there are two pitchers remaining for the fifth spot in the team’s rotation, and the team’s bench could break a few different ways. On to the meter!
Starting pitchers
| Player | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.  | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| John Lannan, LHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Although he’s been a starting pitcher throughout his major league career, Lannan seems likely to make the Mets’ roster as a relief pitcher. |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  | Seemingly the favorite for the fifth starter gig since the start of spring training, Matsuzaka has not been particularly impressive in Grapefruit League play. |
| Jenrry Mejia, RHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | With an excellent start against the Nationals yesterday, Mejia undoubtedly improved his chances of making the rotation. He should win the job, but that doesn’t mean he will. |
Relief pitchers
| Player | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view. | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Vic Black, RHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Despite some rough patches in spring games, the Mets’ major league spring training cuts have made it obvious that he’ll get a shot from the beginning of the season. |
| Jeurys Familia, RHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Like Black, Familia remains in major league camp, which points to a spot in the Opening Day bullpen at this point. He’s looked awfully good in spring games. Here’s hoping his stuff translates to sustained success at the major league level this year. |
| Gonzalez Germen, RHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | With Lannan probably stepping in as a relief pitcher, Germen appears to be the odd man out. |
| Jose Valverde, RHP | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | He’s thrown hard enough in spring games that the Mets will give him a look in real games. He figures to have a short leash from there, though. |
Position players
| Player | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view. | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Brown, OF | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Brown hasn’t had a particularly great spring but showed last year that he’s capable of hitting for power in the big leagues. |
| Eric Campbell, OF/1B/3B | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | The Connecticut product has raked and can play all four corner positions on the field, but given the number of players on the bubble, the odds probably aren’t good. |
| Ike Davis, 1B | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Davis still figures to get the left-handed side of the first base platoon to open the season. |
| Matt den Dekker, OF | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | With a very good spring so far, the left-handed outfielder might have a shot at the fifth outfield spot, as Curtis Granderson is the only one of the Mets’ first four outfielders who’s exclusively a left-handed hitter. |
| Lucas Duda, 1B, "OF" | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Assuming Davis is on the roster, Duda wouldn’t get much playing time if he makes the team, too. He doesn’t have anything left to prove at Triple-A, though, so there’s a chance he breaks camp with the Mets. |
| Wilmer Flores, 2B/SS | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | The only thing keeping Flores from the red arrow is the fact that he’s played a few games at short this spring. |
| Zach Lutz, 1B/3B | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Lutz has torn the cover off the ball in spring games, but it’s still hard to find a spot for him with Josh Satin in line to play the right-handed side of the first base platoon. It will be a platoon, right, Terry? |
| Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | He’s had a very good spring, and the same logic that applies to den Dekker applies to Nieuwenhuis. |
| Omar Quintanilla, SS/2B | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | So long as Ruben Tejada is the starting shortstop, Q is the favorite to back him up, even if he’s struggling at the plate in Grapefruit League games. |
| Anthony Recker, C | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | The presumptive backup to Travis d’Arnaud since the beginning of camp, Recker has raked to the tune of a .310/.412/.552 slash line. |
| Anthony Seratelli, IF/OF | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | Seratelli’s spring hitting line still doesn’t look good, but perhaps his positional flexibility will get him consideration. |
| Taylor Teagarden, C | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. | He’s held his own at the plate in spring games, but he’s pretty likely to start the year in Vegas. |
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