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3 Players Who Won't Be on the Mets Roster After 2020 Season

By Brendan Balsamo

Yoenis Cespedes is one of multiple New York Mets who might see themselves on a different team in 2021.
Yoenis Cespedes is one of multiple New York Mets who might see themselves on a different team in 2021. / Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

With the New York Mets finally headed in a positive direction, continuing to dump some dead weight should be a priority. With some well-paid veterans on the roster who have provided close to nothing, as well as others who are nearing their first taste of free agency, it is realistic to expect GM Brodie Van Wagenen to make a few moves to clean up the roster over the next year.

With that in mind, expect this trio of players to be among the first to go.

3. Jed Lowrie

Signing Jed Lowrie was a great move by the Mets until he couldn't stay healthy.
Signing Jed Lowrie was a great move by the Mets until he couldn't stay healthy. / Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

In what was received as a fine move at the time, the Mets signed All-Star Jed Lowrie to a two-year, $20 million contract prior to the 2019 season. Since then, Lowrie has only been healthy enough to step up to the plate a measly eight times (!) for the team. There was even doubt that Lowrie would have been ready for this year's originally scheduled Opening Day, as he didn't play in a single Spring Training game before the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that has put baseball on hold. The Mets are basically flushing $10 million down the toilet by continuing to pay Lowrie; when his contract is up after 2020, don't expect him to return to Citi Field.

2. Marcus Stroman

Marcus Stroman is about to hit the free agent market for the first time.
Marcus Stroman is about to hit the free agent market for the first time. / Michael Reaves/Getty Images

On July 28, 2019, the Mets traded two prospects to the Toronto Blue Jays for starter Marcus Stroman. He immediately performed admirably and fit right in with the team, and all indications are that he genuinely loves being a Met. However, once 2020 ends, Stroman hits the free agent market for the first time. Sure, he's shown inconsistency throughout his career, but he pitched to a 3.22 ERA in 2019. If he stays hot in 2020, he will for sure be a hot commodity on the free agent market, and the Mets are at real risk of losing that bidding war against baseball's best.

1. Yoenis Cespedes

Yoenis Cespedes has something to prove in the final year of his contract.
Yoenis Cespedes has something to prove in the final year of his contract. / Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

When the Mets signed Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year, $110 million contract prior to the 2017 season, he was one of the more buzzworthy outfielders in baseball. Since then, across three seasons, he's only played in 119 games due to his inability to stay healthy. He was set to make $29.5 million in 2020, but has thankfully taken a paycut to reduce the financial strain on the team. They still paid him $22.5 million to play 81 games in 2017, $29 million to pay 38 games in 2018, another $29 million to play zero games in 2019, however. With his sheer unreliability combined with the pile of money he's already cost the Mets -- not to mention the surplus of young talent the team already has in the outfield -- La Potencia's days in Queens might be over after 2020.