Just Mets

The Mets may choose to take an unusual configuration in their bullpen north for Monday’s season opener in Washington, as Kristie Ackert in the Daily News says the club is considering carrying eight relievers on their Opening Day roster.

Sandy Alderson has said it’s likely they’ll carry three left-handed relievers in Sean Gilmartin, Jerry Blevins and Alex Torres. The shoe-ins on the right side of the bullpen are Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Carlos Torres and Rafael Montero. 

If the Mets carry a fifth right-hander, that could mean good news for Buddy Carlyle, who can opt-out of his minor league contract before Opening Day if he isn’t added to the big league roster.

The Mets do have some immediate roster flexibility to add Carlyle. He could effectively replace Josh Edgin which would give the Mets an even 40 players on their roster, and that’s before placing Zack Wheeler on the 60-day disabled list and dropping Cesar Puello.

It makes sense to do this since they intend to protect their starters by limiting pitch counts and innings in the early part of the season. The problem with this configuration is it leaves the Mets thin on the bench with only Anthony Recker, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Ruben Tejada and John Mayberry Jr. being available and Eric Campbell being the odd man out.

The Mets also have Bobby Parnell and Vic Black possibly being ready to return by as early as next weekend (Parnell is more likely to come back a little later), so the Mets are going to have to make decisions on as many as three pitchers on their staff in a very short period of time.

In the end, its not the most efficient roster configuration. Some pitchers may not be used often enough, and could leave Terry Collins in a real bind late or in extra inning games. But, we will see if this happens and how long it lasts (and what gives) if it does…