NewsMets have room to work on 40-man roster
With 36 players on board, team could be active at Meetings
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
11/20/09 7:18 PM EST
NEW YORK -- As currently constituted, the Mets' roster has four vacancies -- four in number and, in a more subjective, informal and real way, at least four -- slugger, starting pitcher, catcher and reliever. As the Winter Meetings and the Rule 5 Draft draw nigh, their 40-man roster is something of a misnomer because it includes 36 players.So the club not only has needs, it has the roster space to accommodate more personnel.
The deadline for establishing the 40-man roster is 11:59 p.m. ET. The Mets weren't expected to add any players from the lower levels of their organization before the deadline, so unless they make a trade or sign a free agent before Dec. 10, they will enter the Rule 5 Draft with four vacancies.
The free-agent filings of eight players who were on the roster or disabled list at the end of the season and the release of Ken Takahashi created vacancies on the 40-man roster, two of which have been filled by the completion of the Billy Wagner deal with the Red Sox in October when outfielder Chris Carter was added and the promotion of Minor League infielder Shawn Bowman earlier this month. Other housekeeping involved moving Fernando Martinez. Jon Niese, Fernando Nieve, Oliver Perez, Jose Reyes and Johan Santana from the disabled list to the roster.
The 2009 Mets who filed for free agency are Alex Cora, Carlos Delgado, Elmer Dessens, Ramon Martinez, J.J. Putz, Brian Schneider, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Tatis, none of whom are certain to return. The club said in the summer it would prefer to re-sign Cora, who proved to be a valuable understudy for Jose Reyes, before everyday duty and his age took their toll on Cora. There were indications even then that the Red Sox were interested in re-signing Cora.
The Mets still have decided a course of action involving Delgado. The only other free agents among the eight they are likely to contact are Fernando Tatis and Ramon Martinez, both favorites of manager Jerry Manuel. The club also had discussed re-signing Putz to a conditional contract. It opted not to exercise its option on his contract and paid him a $1 million buyout to save money.
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
