The New York Mets made a handful of roster moves over the last couple of days to bolster their 40-man roster. The most notable move was designating Drew Gagnon for assignment to make room for some of their young prospects. The move created space for four prospects to avoid the rule-5 draft in December.
Here's Drew Gagnon on his 5.1 IP of relief to save the Mets' bullpen: pic.twitter.com/R1TRzh8s8C
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 17, 2019
Rumors said Gagnon was working out a deal to play in Korea, but there was no truth to that. There was never even a discussion with the KBO for a contract. Gagnon started strong in 2019, with a 3.21 ERA in his first 14 innings pitched. The following 9.2 innings, over four months, were brutal, he allowed ten home runs and had a 15.83 ERA.
The Mets have a week to decide if they want to trade him, place him on release waivers or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Who Are the Saved Prospects?
The Mets added Shortstop Andres Gimenez, pitcher Jordan Humphreys, catcher Ali Sanchez, and pitcher Thomas Szapucki to the 40-man roster. They are saved from potentially being taken in the rule-5 draft and it allows the Mets to call them up in 2020.
#Mets add 4 Top 30 prospects to their 40-man roster ahead of the 8 ET deadline:
3. Andres Gimenez, SS
12. Thomas Szapucki, LHP
17. Ali Sanchez, C
22. Jordan Humphreys, RHPHere's a list of the Top 30 prospects from each #MLB team who are Rule 5 eligible: https://t.co/dtgOPblRZP pic.twitter.com/RfNtchSrSA
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 20, 2019
Gimenez is the most promising of the four prospects. At 20-years old, he slashed .250/.309/.387, which is not anything amazing, but his game elevated in the Arizona Fall League. He slashed .371/.413/.586 with two home runs and 15 RBIs. His .999 OPS was the highest of anyone in the AFL. Amed Rosario has emerged as a quality shortstop, which gives the Mets time to develop Gimenez instead of rushing him to the big leagues.
Other Mets who will be eligible for selection are pitcher Corey Taylor, first Base/catcher Patrick Mazeika and outfielder Desmond Lindsay.