Jordan Yamamoto Should’ve Made Mets Opening Day Roster

With Opening Day about a week away, the New York Mets are whittling down their roster and getting closer to defining roles. With that, we’re going to see players win and lose Spring Training competitions.

In somewhat of a surprise move, Jordan Yamamoto will not be on the Opening Day roster either as the fifth starter or the bullpen. It’s especially surprising given multiple reports Yamamoto was in line to make the roster.

In terms of Spring Training performance, Yamamoto certainly earned the job. In his three appearances, he allowed just one earned over 8.1 innings. Notably, for a pitcher with control issues in his brief Major League career, he only walked one while striking out five.

All told, Yamamoto showed the Mets exactly what they wanted to see. Basically, he showed himself to be a much better pitcher.

For a pitcher who dipped into the 80s with his fastball last year, he’s been able to maintain a higher velocity. In fact, Luis Rojas remarked Yamamoto had good carry on his fastball.

That extra tick on his fastball is important because, as shown on Baseball Savant, Yamamoto has terrific spin and movement on all of his pitches. It makes him deceptive and an uncomfortable at-bat.

When he has that velocity his ceiling is that much higher. When he’s locating, he’s difficult to hit. In 2019, that led to some terrific starts. Between that and James McCann‘s work behind the plate, the Mets had a potential breakout candidate in their organization.

Instead, the Mets opted to put themselves in a position to burn Yamamoto’s last MLB option this year. That’s a strange decision to make at the outset of a season.

Sure, if Yamamoto struggled, you use the option. However, why use it up if you don’t need to do it? Moreover, why do it when Yamamoto looks to be one of the 13 best pitchers in Spring Training?

It’s a complicated answer.

In terms of the rotation, the Mets are sticking with the homegrown guy in David Peterson even if there are some red flags right now. They also seem to be leaning on Joey Lucchesi‘s experience as a starter.

Theoretically, Yamamoto could’ve been a long man in the bullpen, or he could’ve been an opener. In fact, he would’ve paired quite well with Peterson or Lucchesi. However, the Mets are going in another direction.

Instead of looking to keep the better and more promising pitcher, they’re looking to find a way to keep veteran’s who can opt to become free agents. Specifically, they’re looking to keep Tommy Hunter and Mike Montgomery.

Hunter could be a difference maker in the bullpen, but we haven’t seen it this Spring. Montgomery is the inverse with his having a great Spring, but he’s had a 4.03 ERA and 4.41 FIP since 2017. Also, right-handed batters have annihilated him over the past two years.

This also presumes they want to keep Jacob Barnes. The Barnes decision is an odd one with his having a poor Spring and his having a 6.75 ERA, 68 ERA+, and 4.71 FIP over the past few years.

There are a lot of moving pieces here, and it seems Yamamoto is very likely getting victimized by his having options available. That is being used against him as the Mets are looking to keep other players they’ll lose if they don’t put them on the Opening Day roster.

That’s a real shame because Yamamoto earned a spot. He’s got upside, and he could’ve provided real value in the rotation or bullpen. He should be there proving that on Opening Day. That said, with the amount of pitchers an MLB team uses over the course of a season, it’s very likely we see Yamamoto at some point in the majors in 2021.

When that happens, we can only hope he succeeds and proves the Mets made a mistake by not putting him on the Opening Day roster.

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