Except for the otherworldly Edwin Diaz, left-handed prospect Nate Lavender has been the Mets' most dominant reliever during spring training.
The 24-year-old struck out seven of the nine batters he faced over three perfect frames earlier this spring.
In those innings, Lavender did what he has been doing in the minors -- he struck out tons of batters, with the elite extension he gets when delivering his low-90s fastball resulting in the offering sneaking up on hitters.
But he was reassigned to minor league camp on March 8.
Being reassigned is different than being optioned.
Players who are not on the 40-man roster are reassigned, while those who are on the 40-man roster and have minor league options remaining (such as Grant Hartwig and Josh Walker, who were sent down at the same time as Lavender) are optioned.
For Lavender, not already being on the 40-man roster is one of the reasons why -- barring something very strange happening -- he will not be on the Mets' 26-man Opening Day roster.
Another reason? Lavender, unlike many of the relievers who are fighting for the final one or two slots in the Mets' bullpen, has minor league options remaining.
Additionally, when you combine the fact that the Mets' bullpen was largely set before camp with the fact that there are about a half dozen other pitchers fighting for the final spot(s) -- many of whom are out of options -- it becomes even harder for Lavender to break through and make the roster.
It can very easily be argued that Lavender deserves to be in the Opening Day bullpen. His ability to miss bats has been elite, and he seems ready for his first big league shot.
But like it or not, the Mets -- and every other major league team -- will almost always look at the big picture when it comes to roster building. Sometimes caution is thrown to the wind, but this is not one of those times.
In short, that means that David Stearns and Co. will choose to keep a pitcher they would otherwise lose instead of turning to Lavender right out of the gate.
