Just Mets

A club source told Kristie Ackert of the Daily News the Mets lessened the priority to find another left-handed reliever as they felt confident in what they already had on the roster.

That seems to contrast the things I had been told early in the off-season, as all they really had during the winter was Josh Edgin, and now he could be headed to Tommy John Surgery. In fact, Sandy Alderson told Marc Carig of Newsday they were concerned about the lack of proven depth on the left side of the bullpen in November.

I suppose Dario Alvarez showed something in a small cup of coffee last September, but they really didn’t have much more than that on paper. They did acquire Sean Gilmartin in the Rule 5 draft, and while he’s shown a propensity to get lefties out in the minors, the fact remains he was left unprotected by his former club in the draft, and has never pitched here. They also re-signed Scott Rice to a minor league contract, but he is coming off elbow surgery. They brought in Duane Below on a minor league contract as well, but he isn’t even in big league camp right now and hasn’t pitched in a big league game since 2013.

The point is, none of these arms are shoe-ins for anything on this roster. So, I am curious as to what the Mets might be seeing in their depth that most members of the media and the fan base do not.

I suppose they could look at the free agents who might become available five days before opening day, such as Dana Eveland who signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox this winter. But, there’s usually a compelling reason why these guys become free agents, and therefore might not be appealing solutions for the Mets as they head into Opening Day.

To see a list of Article XX B free agents who could be cut loose five days before Opening Day (or be awarded a $100,000 bonus to go to the minors), check out MLB.com.