Mets Invite Five To Spring Training

You’ve been dying to hear some real, legitimate news that is somehow related to the Mets. Well, your dreams have been answered.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Mets recently invited five players to spring training: catcher Juan Centeno, infielder Josh Satin, outfielder Matt Den Dekker, and pitchers Cory Mazzoni and Rafael Montero.

You probably remember Satin, who is essentially the righthanded-hitting version of Daniel Murphy — a decent hitter with limited power who has shown an ability to get on base in the minors, but hasn’t shown an ability to play a defensive position.

Centeno is one of the smallest catchers in pro ball, at 5’9″ and about 170 pounds. He swung a decent stick as a teenager, but has been less impressive with each step up the ladder. With dozens of pitchers in camp, a team needs every catcher it can find.

Den Dekker is, more or less, a duplicate version of Kirk Nieuwenhuis, except he strikes out more often (yes, that IS possible). Now 25 years old and turning 26 in August, he either breaks camp with the Mets or becomes one of those “AAAA” players that forever bounce around the minors from one organization to another.

Montero and Mazzoni are hard-throwing righthanders in their early 20s who are longshots to make the club, but, hey, when there’s velocity, you never know. Both project as middle relievers as a ceiling, with Montero showing better minor league numbers thanks to strong command, while Mazzoni is where Bobby Parnell was at a similar age — though, minus a few MPH.

These five additions more than double the number of non-roster invitees reporting in February. The quintet joins Aaron Laffey, Brian Bixler, Andrew Brown, and Carlos Torres.

Hearing news like this makes me want to get together with good friends, grab a steak, and celebrate with a bottle of Lowenbrau.