Mets set Wild Card roster, which doesn't include Lucas Duda or Josh Smoker
We’re not sure what the Mets were thinking, either
The Mets have announced their roster for tonight’s Wild Card game against the Giants. Most of it is as expected, but there are two glaring omissions.
Mets roster tonight. pic.twitter.com/JFvcQiiXLR
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) October 5, 2016
Yep, Lucas Duda and Josh Smoker have both been left off the roster.
In their place are Eric Campbell and Josh Edgin.
Why the hell is this happening?
Some have been speculating that Duda must not be healthy enough to contribute. And that’s the only reason this would be acceptable.
If Duda is healthy enough to contribute, though, leaving him off the roster is egregious.
If Duda is healthy enough, he should be starting. Instead, the Mets will trot out James Loney, the inferior player both offensively and defensively.
Imagine it’s a tie game late. There’s a right-hander on the mound for the Giants. And Terry Collins looks down his bench and calls on Ty Kelly or Campbell because Duda isn’t there. Cool.
Meanwhile, Edgin pitched well in September, but had a 5.23 ERA and 1.55 WHIP this season.
Edgin has held three of the Giants’ left-handers to a combined 1-for-14 clip, as noted by Mike Puma of the New York Post. But it’s hard to justify taking him over Smoker.
With the Mets having multiple crossover relievers in their bullpen, including Addison Reed and Fernando Salas, having another LOOGY in addition to Jerry Blevins seems pointless. Especially at the expense of Smoker.
Smoker allowed two runs over his last 12 appearances while striking out 14 batters, and his stuff is worlds better than Edgin’s.
It’s not clear how much of this was up to manager Terry Collins and how much was in the hands of GM Sandy Alderson, but let’s just hope it works out.
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