The New York Mets removed six players from their 40-man roster on Halloween to clear space to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft or sign free agents this off-season.
The Oakland Athletics claimed outfielder Andrew Brown, and the Milwaukee Brewers claimed catcher Juan Centeno.
In addition the Mets assigned infielder Josh Satin and relievers Buddy Carlyle, Dana Eveland and Scott Rice to Triple-A Las Vegas on paper, though all four now become minor league free agents.
Brown is, at worst, a solid Triple-A hitter. At best, he becomes a platoon player or a power bat off the bench at the major league level. But at 30, he’s pretty much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get player so it’s hard to fault the Mets for moving on.
Centeno may have a future as a backup catcher in the major leagues – he’s got a good arm and a left-handed bat, after all. But with Travis d’Arnaud, Kevin Plawecki and Anthony Recker all requiring 40-man roster spots this winter, Centeno was certainly expendable.
Satin offered some production at the major league level in 2013 and he plays a lot of positions. But he’s 30, he lacks real power and he’s never enjoyed sustained success in the major leagues. Maybe he catches on somewhere and sticks as a major league utility player. My guess is that he lands a reserve role on a Triple-A team or a starting job on an independent league team.
Carlyle, Eveland and Rice can all help out a major league bullpen or offer Triple-A depth if they’re healthy. I’d like to see the Mets re-sign Carlyle to a minor league deal, but I think he did well enough to get a major league job somewhere else. But the Mets have better arms and can only hang on to so many of them.
The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League reportedly plan to offer Daisuke Matsuzaka a four-year contract. Matsuzaka, who became a free agent after the end of the World Series, has said that he wants to start next year so it’s unlikely he’s thinking about returning to the Mets.
Of the seven players, only Daisuke Matsuzaka, Andrew Brown and Josh Satin appeared on nationally-issued baseball cards wearing a Mets uniform. Juan Centeno and Scott Rice appear on cards produced by Panini wearing “New York” uniforms, but because Panini does not have a license from Major League Baseball, they cannot show team logos on their cards. Buddy Carlyle last appeared on a major league card in 2009, while Dana Eveland’s last major league card came in 2010.
I wish all seven players good luck wherever they end up in 2015, except when they play the Mets.
PaulHadsall.com 