With Opening Day only four days away, the Mets’ 25-man roster is set. Few, if any, surprises dot the list, though at least one individual may have been slighted.

Here are your 2009 New York Mets:

Pitching Staff

Rotation:
Johan Santana
Mike Pelfrey
Oliver Perez
John Maine
* Livan Hernandez

Bullpen:

Francisco Rodriguez
Joseph Jason Putz
Sean Green
Pedro Feliciano
Bobby Parnell
Brian Stokes
Darren O’Day

Catchers

Brian Schneider
Ramon Castro

Infield

1B Carlos Delgado
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
SS Jose Reyes
UTL Alex Cora

Outfield

Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church
Danny Murphy
Jeremy Reed
Fernando Tatis (UTL)
Marlon Anderson (1B / 2B)
* Nick Evans (1B)

(* – Livan Hernandez will join the roster on April 11th, presumably to replace Nick Evans)

Comments

There wasn’t any competition for the starting lineup positions, and four of the five rotation spots were earmarked, so much of the above is unsurprising. Livan Hernandez took hold of the fifth starter’s spot in the first week of spring training and never let go.

So the real mystery — if there was any — came in regard to the bullpen and the bench. Darren O’Day was a Rule 5 pick, and pitched well enough to earn a spot. I think he’ll be a sleeper coming out of the ‘pen. Brian Stokes was fairly effective in the spring, and was helped by the fact that most of the ST invites brought in to compete for bullpen spots were underwhelming at best. Stokes also is out of options, and likely would have been plucked by another team if waived. Similarly, Sean Green pitched well in March and was more or less a lock, as was Pedro Feliciano and the two closers. The only surprise is Bobby Parnell, who impressed by touching 97 MPH on the radar gun and posting a 2.19 ERA. I’m a little skeptical on carrying Parnell, due to the 9 walks he gave up in only 12 innings, and the long fly balls that resulted when his fastball veered chest high over the middle of the plate. Personally, I would’ve preferred to see Nelson Figueroa on the staff as a long man, especially after his excellent performance in the WBC. Apparently, facing some of the best hitters in the world in a playoff-like competition does not weigh as heavily as pitching against AA hitters in a spring training atmosphere. Go figure.

As for the bench, we knew that Alex Cora’s $2M contract guaranteed a spot, and Ramon Castro was similarly set. Marlon Anderson was also retained for financial reasons, though also out of respect, I surmise, because he didn’t hit very well. I’m OK with that, as I’m a huge fan of Marlon and believe he is a good clubhouse presence. But if he needs to hit to stick around — this situation is eerily similar to that of Julio Franco in 2007.

Tatis was a no-brainer for the bench after Dan Murphy was named the starting leftfielder. He’s an ideal guy to have around for his versatility and occasional pop. Reed was the best of the dozen or so light-hitting, defensive-minded, Endy Chavez replacements. I like Reed quite a bit and wonder why he’s not the one starting in LF, after hitting a blistering .418 with a .500 OBP in the spring. Talk all you want about Danny Murphy, but from what I saw, Jeremy Reed was the most impressive all-around outfield candidate in camp.

The Cuts

The demotion of Figueroa — and subsequent longer looks at schlubs such as Fernando Nieve and Elmer Dessens — was deplorable. What more did Figgy have to do this spring? If it weren’t such a wide open competition, it would be somewhat understandable. In 7 2/3 high-pressure innings, Figueroa gave up zero runs, struck out 6, and posted a 0.68 WHIP. The Mets are in need of a flexible guy in the bullpen — one who can handle both long and short duties — and Figgy fits the bill. Strange.

Tony Armas, Jr. was cut after pitching one scoreless inning. I thought for sure he would be assigned to AAA Buffalo; perhaps he eventually will.

Jose Valentin was also released, which was sad. If not for the guaranteed contract given to Cora, he might have had a chance. Like Armas, he may eventually be assigned to a minor league club — my guess is that the team will discuss with him a player-coach position in Buffalo, or a straight coaching job at a lower level.

Similarly, Andy Green was demoted quickly, despite invigorating an otherwise boring spring with heightened enthusiasm and hitting like crazy. He reminded me of Joe McEwing, during Superjoe’s heyday.

Freddy Garcia wasn’t in shape, and pitched poorly, but I believe and hope he builds himself up in the minors, as I have a funny feeling he’ll be needed at some point.

What happened to Eddie Kunz? Not a peep about him all spring.

Final Thoughts

No huge surprises, as the Mets’ roster was fairly set due to financial commitments. There is a concern that Pedro Feliciano is the only lefty coming out of the bullpen, but the LOOGYs brought in ranged from awful to ordinary, and it doesn’t make sense to carry a lefty for the sake of carrying a lefty.

On paper, the roster looks fairly solid up and down. Let the games begin.

After their most recent performances, it’s nearly a given that Livan Hernandez will go north as the Mets #5 starter, while Freddy Garcia’s future will depend on whether he’s willing to begin the season in AAA.

Hernandez was sharp in his Wednesday start, and looks to be in mid-season form. His fastball is underwhelming (low 80s), but he throws strikes, gets outs, and does everything else a pitcher needs to do to win (hit, bunt, field). The Mets don’t need Livan to be an ace, they need him to take the ball every fifth day and keep the team in the game through 6-7 innings.

You have to love Livan’s attitude, as demonstrated in an SNY interview during the sixth inning of that game. He was cool as a cucumber, completely relaxed, sounding like he just came in from a day of rum drinks on the beach rather than a five-inning stint on the mound. Of course, that same personality will drive people mad if his ERA is over 7.00 and his record is 0-6 by mid-May. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.

In contrast, Freddy Garcia is not progressing quickly enough — though there were a few positive signs in his outing against the Braves. Though Garcia was again battered — 7 hits and 5 runs in two innings — his velocity was improved and his curveball continues to have good bite. The fastball was riding around 85-86, and he touched 88 several times — a significant increase from the 83-84 range of a week ago. But it remains clear that he’s going to need more time to get ready for prime time. If the Mets don’t release him, and if he accepts a minor league assignment, I believe he can work his way back to the bigs after another month to six weeks in the minors. The guy is a battler, and it appears he’ll be able to get the velocity back around the 89-90 range. If he can get it there, he can win a few games in MLB, because his curveball is already a plus pitch, his changeup is solid, and his slider can be devastating. His problem now is that all of those pitches are around the same speed, and his fastball location is too high. Another few MPH difference between the fastball and his other pitches are key to his future success.

After his dismal performances this spring, Garcia may not have a choice — it’s not like other teams will be banging down his door.

In other news, Jonathan Niese has been sent to minor-league camp. That move plus Tim Redding’s shoulder injury and Tony Armas, Jr.’s demotion would suggest that the fifth starter competition has become a two-man race — with Livan Hernandez several strides ahead.

A roundabout of comments

Johan Santana

The hits and runs don’t bother me in the least. Neither does the Dan Uggla blast. If you recall, in Johan’s first spring training start last year, the now-defunct Juan Gonzalez demolished one of his pitches into the stratosphere. No worries then, no worries now.

Johan’s fastball was riding around 90-91 in his first inning and a half, topping out at 92. That’s about right, considering that he was shut down for a while and is way behind schedule. In his last inning, he slowed to 89. Again, not a concern — it merely means he needs to build up his endurance. He was around the plate with both his fastball and his changeup, and his change was anywhere from 78-82 MPH. Perfect.

All in all, a good day for Johan. It will be tough for him to build up to 85-100 pitches by April, but so what? He looks healthy and should be at full strength by early May.

Tim Redding

Ouch. There was mild concern when Redding could manage only one out before allowing five hits and five runs against the University of Michigan. After allowing nine runs to the Nationals, I think it’s fair to say that he’s reached a new level — from “mildly concerning” to “concerning”.

“This has not been a good night for Redding” – Ralph Kiner.

His fastball started out at 86-87 MPH and sat there for most of his appearance. He had no command of the pitch, either, and was mostly wild high. When he found the plate, he caught most of it and set it up on a chest-high tee.

Like Santana, Redding was shut down for part of spring training, and is behind schedule. Unlike Santana, there wasn’t much positive to take away from this outing, other than a few sharp-breaking curveballs. Yes, he may have caught a few bad breaks that extended his first inning of work, but he also consistently fell behind hitters, and didn’t throw with any conviction or confidence. He was visibly laboring, and I’m betting that his shoulder is still barking, but he’s not going to say so. From what I understand, he’s a pretty tough character and could be pitching through pain to win a job in the rotation and to back up his early chest-pounding remarks that he was the favorite for the fifth spot.

I’m not ready to write off Redding, as he’s at least 2-3 weeks behind where he should be, and he’s likely ailing. My hope is that he doesn’t further damage his shoulder and can make a contribution of some sort in 2009.

BTW, Redding’s baseball card says he’s 6’1″ 180 lbs. but he looks closer to 225-230 to me — though it could just be the baggy uniform. Of course, weight isn’t an issue unless your performance is terrible (ask David Wells).

Tony Armas, Jr.

I felt Armas was a nice pickup last year, and would’ve been a serviceable, if unspectacular, spot starter to shuttle back and forth from AAA had he not been injured. He looked OK, hitting 88-89 with a heavy fastball that sat between knee- and belt-high, and mixing in an 83 MPH offspeed breaking ball.

Like Santana and Redding, he’s behind schedule, and like Redding, he’s looking a bit on the hefty side — though, it’s not as noticeable when you pitch a scoreless inning.

Sean Green

He looks like he’s hurting himself on every pitch. With Duaner Sanchez gone, he’s your 7th inning man.

Nick Evans

Again, Nick turns on a pitch and moshes it over the leftfield fence. He also blasted a double over the rightfielder’s head earlier in the game. He looks to me like a guy in a zone, unconscious — similar to when Mike Jacobs first came up, or when Kevin Maas made his debut with the Yankees about a hundred years ago. Can he keep it up? If he can, the Mets have to find a spot for him on the 25-man roster.

Ryan Church

Church is drilling the ball to all parts of the field. Though, I’m not sure that he’s as good a hitter as Daniel Murphy (heh heh).

Ron Darling

Ron had some nice comments during the game, including one that really stood out regarding the evaluation of a pitcher based on watching the catcher. One thing I took issue with, though, was his assertion that Duaner Sanchez needed to earn his dough and “be a crossover guy, someone able to retire both righties and lefties”. But check the stats: righties hit .268 in 123 ABs against Dirty last year, while lefties hit .200 in 100 ABs. If that’s not a crossover guy, what is?

The rest of Darling’s analysis of Sanchez was spot on, particularly the point that a guy making his salary would need to earn that by being a lights-out 7th inning guy, which he wasn’t looking like this spring.

Ricky Nolasco

The kid is finally maturing. He looked extremely sharp and ready to start the “real” games. Nolasco may be a force in 2009. No kidding.

Dan Uggla

Speaking of ready for the regular season, Uggla hit some rockets. But will he have anyone else besides Hanley Ramirez hitting around him?

Logan Morrison

This guy might be a year or two away, but he looks to me like another Adam Dunn. Who knows, he might be the guy to help Uggla and Ramirez with some pop in the middle third of the lineup. Though, supposedly another youngster named Gaby Sanchez is ahead of him at this point.

Cameron Maybin

Wow … Maybin can FLY. He reminds me of a slightly more polished Carlos Gomez circa 2007. I doubt he’ll be a star in his rookie year, but I can definitely understand why people are so excited about him. Great raw talent, and he seems to have a solid head on his shoulders.

John Lindsey

Seeing guys like this make me sad. Lindsey hit .316 with 26 HR, 36 doubles, and 100 RBI (.964 OPS) last year in AAA. In 2007, he mashed 30 HR, 32 doubles, 120 RBI, and a .317 AVG (.975 OPS). But, he was a late bloomer — 2007 was his first year above AA, and he was 30 years old. He struggled, but hung around in A ball, from age 18 to 24, and didn’t start really hitting until age 25 — but a 25-year-old dominating A ball is written off as a non-prospect. He turned 32 in January, and isn’t likely to be seen on an MLB roster this year, nor next. Hopefully he’s picked up some things in his 13 years beating the bushes, and can eventually develop into a coach or manager. I’m rooting for him.

The New York Mets have signed Bobby Kielty, Tony Armas Jr., Matt DeSalvo, and Valerio de los Santos to minor league contracts, and invited them to spring training.

Ho hum.

Nowhere in those four names do I see “Ramirez”, “Perez”, nor “Sheets”.

In other news, the Orioles have decided to move on from Kevin Millar, who happens to be a righthanded hitter with some power and the ability to play LF better than Fernando Tatis. Unfortunately, Millar’s status as a scab in 1995 still irks the prince of darkness, Tony Bernazard.

I like seeing Armas come back, even though he once again showed himself a Glass Joe in ’08. I’ve always liked Armas’ competitiveness. If he can only stay healthy, he just might be good enough to be a long reliever / spot starter.

Kielty is a switch-hitting outfielder with a tiny bit of pop and one heckuva shock of red hair. I think he might be Irish, which is nice. It’s also nice that he can swing from the right side of the plate — something few outfielders in the Mets organization can do.

De Los Santos has almost twenty letters in his name, and throws with his left hand. He doesn’t throw particularly well, but balls do emanate from the south side of the stadium. He is 35 years old and LH hitters pound him to the tune of .262. His “best” years came at ages 29 and 30, when he was with the Brewers. He posted a career low 3.12 ERA and 1.18 WHIP as a 29-year-old in 2002. He’s been pretty much awful ever since, and before. He’ll be good filler material in AAA.

Still waiting to see the Mets bring back the ageless wonder Ricardo Rincon, a LOOGY who actually had success in his career, and didn’t look half-bad last September.

DeSalvo is a former Yankee who pitched two innings for the Braves last year. In those two frames, he gave up 11 hits, 2 walks, and 7 runs. However, he did strike out 2, so there’s that. Many articles have been written on him in regard to the fact he can read; apparently, most MLBers are illiterate. Hopefully he can help the Buffalo Bisons complete the NY Times crossword puzzles.