Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen spins 11 players through roster roulette
Mets new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen looks on from the field after a press conference at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Trivia question: What was the Mets’ first transaction under general manager Brodie Van Wagenen?
After a Friday flurry of moves, there are many answers.
In an effort to clear space on the 40-man roster — and empty the 60-day disabled list — the Mets made moves involving 11 players, some of them mere technicalities and some of them potentially career-altering.
Righthander Rafael Montero (injured all year) and utilityman Phillip Evans (injured at the end of the year) were outrighted and elected free agency. Similarly, righty reliever Jamie Callahan, who hasn’t reached the majors yet, became a minor-league free agent.
The Cubs claimed utilityman Jack Reinheimer off waivers. Lefthander P.J. Conlon was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse, remaining Mets property.
And everybody else who was on the DL is now off of it: Yoenis Cespedes, Travis d’Arnaud, Juan Lagares, T.J. Rivera, Eric Hanhold and Bobby Wahl. That is just a formality and doesn’t say anything new about those players’ availability (or unavailability) at the start of 2019.
Montero and Evans are most noteworthy.
Montero, 28, had a shot at the Mets’ Opening Day roster despite a bad spring training (he was out of minor-league options), until he blew out his elbow and had Tommy John surgery. In parts of four seasons with the Mets, Montero, once among the club’s top prospects, had a 5.38 ERA and 1.71 WHIP.
Evans, 26, was poised to receive significant playing time the final third of the season, but a questionable slide by Washington’s Adam Eaton on Aug. 1 broke Evans’ leg and ended his year. He has a .241/.328/.278 slash line in 34 games across two major-league seasons.
The Mets’ 40-man roster has 38 players.
