Expect Sean Gilmartin To Break Camp With New York Mets
By Matt Turner
@mturnerny
Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
While he might not force the New York Mets to bring him back to Queens with the team, Sean Gilmartin does in fact have a great chance of making the team.
Selected in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, Gilmartin was brought in to compete for a spot out of the bullpen as a left-hander alongside Josh Edgin. And while he isn’t really proving he deserves to be on the team, recent news may force the Mets’ hand. Edgin, the incumbent southpaw in the bullpen, has some elbow discomfort and has left camp to visit the team doctors and will receive in MRI. Now, with no other proven lefty available, Gilmartin may have to step up.
In addition to Gilmartin, Scott Rice, Dario Alvarez and Jack Leathersich are all technically competing for the spot. Both Alvarez and Leathersich, however, are longshots. Rice, on the other hand, always had a good chance of making the team. However, like Gilmartin, he was competing for the role of the second left-hander. With Edgin’s injury, there’s a good chance they’ll both be required to step up in Spring Training to show manager Terry Collins that they actually deserve a spot on the roster.
Although the Mets were looking for a second lefty, that doesn’t mean both Rice and Gilmartin will make the team as the two lefties. They haven’t had any qualms with going into the season with only one left-hander in the past, and therefore the injury to Edgin does not mean the other players will just get a spot.
This is still a competition. Unfortunately, no one is really performing that well. Gilmartin and Rice are matching 13.50 ERAs in 2.0 and 2.2 innings pitched respectively.
If Gilmartin isn’t on the Mets’ 25-man roster for the remainder of the season, he’ll get offered back to the Minnesota Twins, which would cost the Mets $25,000. So if nothing else, he has that going for him. Hopefully for Gilmartin and the Mets, he’ll actually earn a spot on the Opening Day roster. That said, it’s looking like the odds just fell in his favor to win the lefty bullpen spot whether he deserves it or not.
Matt Turner is a New York Mets Writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @MTurnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.
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