When the Mets recalled Rafael Montero for his spot start on Tuesday, they decided to option INF Daniel Muno back to Triple-A, leaving them with an effective three-man bench (four if the backup catcher is counted).
After Tuesday’s loss to the Marlins, the Mets optioned Montero back to Las Vegas, as expected. But instead of bringing back Muno, they chose to promote Jack Leathersich, once again leaving the Mets short on the bench.
The short bench is probably temporary, as the Mets will presumably cut a pitcher when they activate David Wright, potentially as soon as this weekend against the Nationals. Given Muno’s lack of usage and the clear effort to pad the pitching staff as much as possible, carrying the extra reliever for a short duration isn’t the end of the world. But, it does leave them with basically no margin for error.
Leathersich isn’t a natural left-handed specialist, and nor in Alex Torres, although Torres has been impressive against lefties in the early part of the year. But, they’re carrying three left-handed relievers in the bullpen again and don’t really have a true right-handed setup guy in the bullpen. Presumably Alex Torres could aid Carlos Torres in that role since his change-up can be very effective against right-handers, but it’s really not ideal.
Ultimately, Leathersich’s stay in the big leagues could be short-lived, especially since they have no flexibility with Rule 5 selection Sean Gilmartin, who deserves to be here for the time being as well.
If Leathersich performs and misses bats at or close to the rate he has in the minor leagues, he can be a tantalizing weapon late in games for the Mets bullpen, which has been in constant flux since Spring Training. That could conceivably leave Gilmartin as the odd-man out on the left side of the bullpen, but if the team is better because of Leathersich, it would be hard to argue against the move even if Gilmartin has shown he can pitch here.
Just Mets 