3 Mets roster decisions from spring training we wish were reversed

Most of those final roster decisions before spring training don’t really matter much and to jump to any conclusion this early in the year is assumptive. The New York Mets barely had any competitions in St. Lucie. Tylor Megill, who deservedly got the spot in the rotation held by injured starter Kodai Senga, was the most exciting and yet that was won early.

What about those other decisions? Far deeper in the pantheon of importance are these three roster choices we wish, in hindsight, could’ve been reversed.

1) The Mets should have kept Mark Vientos instead of DJ Stewart

The Mets ended up choosing DJ Stewart over Mark Vientos although it wasn’t necessarily a direct one or the other. Stewart was the last guy to actually get notified that he had made the team as the Mets searched for alternatives up until the last minute. While Vientos has continued to hit well in Triple-A, Stewart has been somewhat of a lost cause in the majors as one of the more regular DH options for the team.

Only lately has his bat heated up. A pair of home runs in the series against the Atlanta Braves helped spark him slightly. However, there is little doubt most of us are more curious about what Vientos could have offered as the everyday DH instead of Stewart in a part-time role out of this spot in the lineup.

Why the Mets didn’t do this

The anticipation of J.D. Martinez joining the club much sooner than he actually will had a lot of input into this decision. Stewart was viewed as a placeholder for Martinez. Giving Vientos the DH duties only for him to tear pitchers apart and then remove him from the role would’ve been difficult. Instead, after a powerful yet strikeout latent spring training, Vientos was sent to his familiar stomping ground in Syracuse.

The only bonus, if there is one, with this decision is that Vientos has been able to play more regularly than he would have in the majors. Having Stewart’s left-handed bat, in theory, has benefits, too. It allows Carlos Mendoza to go with the best matchups possible. The National League teams now play American League ball with the DH in place. It still doesn’t mean pinch hitters are extinct.

2) The Mets should have kept Reed Garrett instead of Michael Tonkin (or Yohan Ramirez)

Nobody was demanding this roster move to open the season. Reed Garrett looked more like a “stick around, you have minor league options” kind of guy rather than an actual participant who could help them win games. Michael Tonkin, on the other hand, was a freshly signed free agent who was put in an unusual situation where he might not actually make the team.

Because the ink on Tonkin’s contract hadn’t even dried yet, it was always more likely he’d make the team over anyone else he was competing with whether it was Yohan Ramirez, Sean Reid-Foley, or anyone else in the mix for one of those last spots.

Tonkin ended up as the tough-luck loser in two games where he entered in extra innings with a man already on second base. The MLB rules didn’t favor him here. Don’t blame the fans’ short attention spans or our desire to get home before a game extends to three and a half hours. Don’t even fault those who watch from home and simply want to get onto the next task. At the end of the day, Tonkin failed twice in the same situation.

Why the Mets didn’t do this

Garrett never seemed to be a legitimate candidate to make the Opening Day roster. Despite some good spring numbers in 5 innings of work, the roster crunch of having to choose between several out of options relievers always had him headed for Syracuse as depth. Now 6.2 innings of shutout baseball later, this is one of those roster reversals that no one wanted then and time has proven would’ve worked now.

3) The Mets should have kept Austin Adams stashed in the minor leagues

The most perplexing of all was the trading of Austin Adams to the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations. Adams wasn’t particularly good in spring training but would manage 13 strikeouts in only 6.2 innings of work for his time with the Mets and A’s. It negates the 5.40 ERA in such a small sample size.

Adams signed a split contract this offseason and had already passed through waivers so the urgency to take any action with him wasn’t there. Coming off of an unimpressive 17.1 innings with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mets sent him to MLB Siberia and he has been pretty terrific ever since.

Adams has continued to strike batters out at a high rate—an ability he has held throughout his career. Through 4.2 innings and 7 games, he has fanned 7 already without an earned run charged against him. To nobody’s surprise, he has already hit a pair of batters. His record 24 from 2021 could be in danger of falling.

Why the Mets didn’t do this

Unless there was an opt out in his contract, this makes little sense. The Mets have already had to turn to their relief depth and to have a guy like Adams available would’ve been a treat. There was never a way for him to make the Opening Day roster. Stashing him in Syracuse instead would’ve been the right play.

Perhaps this was another case of David Stearns trying to make friends. Knowing the Athletics will be sellers already, handing them a pitcher they could use is something we hope they don’t forget when the time comes to trade their next Matt Olson or Sean Murphy.

This article was originally published on risingapple.com as 3 Mets roster decisions from spring training we wish were reversed.