NEW YORK – A complicated week of roster juggling has led to the exits of three Mets players, including one prominent member of the 2020 bullpen.
The Mets appointed Brad Brach, the right-hand man, for the assignment to clear 40 grid space on Thursday and complete a series of deals with which they could also see DFA starting crawler Corey Oswalt and catcher Ali Sánchez.
When a player is selected for assignment, the player is immediately removed from the 40-man squad of his club, and 25-man if he was also present. The Mets have seven days from the time of each DFA to exchange those players, place them on live waivers or release them.
Appointing players to make room for acquisitions is not uncommon, and for the Mets it was necessary; they acquired fielder Albert Almora, captains Jonathan Villar and prospective Khalil Lee in less than a week, forcing them to drop three others from their 40s.
Less common is to appoint someone under guaranteed contract, like Brach. A 2019 Cubs trade acquisition, Brach later signed back to New York for one year with a 2021 player option. He then used the option, which increased to $ 2,075 million as a result of a series of incentives.
As such, Brach decided to reprise his role in the Mets’ bullpen in 2021. But the team acquired replacements Trevor May and Aaron Loup, among others, to reduce Brach’s role.
A New Jersey resident and lifelong Mets fan, Brach also struggled in 2020 and missed most of the Summer Camp and the first two weeks of the season due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. The right-hander put up an ERA period of 1.50 in his first 11 appearances, but ended his season with three ugly outings, recording eight runs, six runs and a single result.
If the Mets cannot trade with Brach, any team claiming indemnity can sign him up for the Major League minimum; the Mets would be on the hook for the difference. Even before the Brach were nominated for the allotment, the Mets allegedly wanted to continue to improve their bullpen with extra depth signings.
The DFA of Oswalt should affect the start of the Mets in the same way, with their acquisitions of Joey Lucchesi, Jordan Yamamoto and Sean Reid-Foley for his potential departure. Oswalt has spent the past three seasons as one of the Mets’ alternative rotation options, but struggled in the role and placed a 6.19 era over 13 opening and ten relay appearances. He was much more effective at Triple-A Syracuse, where in 2019 he started a 2.91-ERA of more than 16.
Sánchez, a defensive catcher, made his Major League debut last summer, but buried in 2021 behind James McCann, Tomás Nido and Patrick Mazeika on the depth map.