The Mets have made their first cuts of the Spring. RHP Manuel Alvarez, RHP Josh Stinson, IF Ruben Tejada, and OF Fernando Martinez have been optioned to Buffalo. 2B Jordany Valdespin and 3B Zach Lutz have been optioned to Binghamton. RHP Armando Rodriguez has been to optioned to St. Lucie.
Most of the cuts do not come as surprises. Alvarez, Stinson, Valdespin, Lutz, and Rodriguez are prospects and had little chance of making the team. In addition, none of them did much to impress Mets brass so far in Spring Training.
It was a bit of a surprise to see Tejada cut, and, perhaps even more surprisingly, cut so early in camp. On paper, Tejada was one of the leading candidates to win the job as a utility player with the club. However, manager Terry Collins and GM Sandy Alderson have both stated repeatedly that they want Tejada getting regular at-bats as the shortstop at Buffalo. Now that's where he'll be.
Another bit of a surprise is the departure of Martinez. With RF Carlos Beltran's knee problems causing concern in camp and Martinez swinging a hot bat, he appeared to be in the running to fill in for the oft-injured outfielder if he started the season on the D.L. At the very least he was expected to remain in big league camp until Beltran was proven healthy. Evidently Collins and Alderson did not feel the same way. OF Lucas Duda, 1B/OF Nick Evans, OF Scott Hairston, and OF Willie Harris are now on call if Beltran will not be ready for the start of the season.
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