The New York Mets released three players who were out of minor league options as they did their final roster shuffle.
The New York Mets have designated three fringe players for assignment, with infielder Vidal Brujan, pitcher Bryan Hudson and catcher Ben Rortvedt all getting bumped off the final 40-man roster, according to a report from Darragh McDonald of MLBTradeRumors.com.
The fact that all three players are out of minor league options played a major role in this move, and the primary players who will benefit are reliever Richard Lovelady and infielder/outfielder Jared Young both expected to get final roster spots, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Brujan îs a former prospect of the Tampa Bay Rays who seemed to have a chance to land an infield spot based on his speed and versatility. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves last year, and his option status likely played a role in losing his spot with each of those teams as well.
Brujan posted a slash line of .273/.400/.273 in 40 spring plate appearances, and his chance to make the roster looked solid when the Mets decided to option infielder Ronny Mauricio to Triple-A Syracuse.
But Brujan got caught in the final roster squeeze when injured shortstop Francisco Lindor returned early after sustaining a broken hamate bone in his wrist that was reported at the beginning of spring training, and when Lindor appeared in several games and reported himself ready for Opening Day, Brujan was the odd man out. The Mets have elected to use infielder Bo Bichette as their de facto backup shortstop, but that situation is likely to be temporary.
Hudson also got close to a roster spot, as he was able to take advantage of the struggles of reliever Craig Kimbrel, who was released over the weekend, to keep his spot. But Hudson was unable to duplicate the numbers he had in Milwaukee, and the combination of wildness and the fact that he was hit hard led to his release.
Rortvedt was competing for the third catcher spot, but even as a defense-first backstop he needed to hit to attract attention, and that didn’t happen. Moreover, both Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens stayed healthy, so the need for a third catcher didn’t rise to the level where the Mets considered keeping the former catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The addition of Lovelady is surprising, given that the Mets keep adding him and releasing him, and it wouldn’t be at all surprised if he wound up getting released again once the Mets have assessed their pitching for a couple of weeks. Young made the roster based on his versatility, but he’s basically a “Four A” player with an option remaining, so he, too, could be on the move soon.