Players on the 40-man roster who are not under contract and who have fewer than six years of major league service time must be tendered a contract each offseason by the non-tender deadline, which is Tuesday at 8 p.m.
That means the clock is ticking as the Mets decide which players to tender contracts to.
This includes players who are due raises via arbitration.
If a club non-tenders a player, he immediately becomes a free agent
The Mets have 14 players who are eligible for arbitration.
Those players are Pete Alonso, Miguel Castro, J.D. Davis, Edwin Diaz, Robert Gsellman, Luis Guillorme, Joey Lucchesi, Seth Lugo, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Tomas Nido, Dominic Smith, Drew Smith, and Trevor Williams.
Most of those players are no-brainers to tender contracts to, but these three players could be non-tender candidates...
Projected salary for 2022: $1.6 million
Gsellman's 2021 season was interrupted by a lat injury that kept him out from June 20 to Oct. 1.
When he was healthy, Gsellman was solid -- posting a 3.77 ERA (4.29 FIP) and 1.18 WHIP in 28.2 IP.
Before 2021, Gsellman -- following his strong rookie campaign in 2016 -- had a 5.03 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 277.1 innings between 2017 and 2020.
And when considering what Gsellman has provided over the last five seasons, it can be argued that the Mets are better off going with a younger, less expensive option in the system as they try to fill out the bullpen.
Projected salary for 2022: $3.8 million
Williams was solid for the Mets after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs as part of the Javier Baez trade at the deadline, posting a 3.06 ERA (2.71 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP with 29 strikeouts in 32.1 innings (three starts, seven relief appearances).
But Williams' numbers with the Mets were likely a bit too good to be true, considering the fact that he gave up 10.3 hits per 9.
Williams could be a valuable part of a pitching staff who serves as a rotation fill-in in an emergency, but paying him close to $4 million makes little sense.
Perhaps the Mets will non-tender Williams and try to re-sign him to a less expensive deal.
Projected salary for 2022: 1.6 million
Lucchesi had Tommy John surgery in June and could miss the entire 2022 season as he recovers.
But he is under team control through the 2024 season, which could make him an affordable depth starter for the Mets in 2023 and 2024.
Lucchesi had a 4.46 ERA (3.40 FIP) and 1.17 WHIP while striking out 9.6 per 9 in 38.1 innings (eight starts, three relief appearances) for the Mets last season after being acquired from the San Diego Padres.
And while Lucchesi isn't the type of pitcher who will blow you away with his stuff, he still provides value.
