That could mean just four more games in the Terry Collins era. Seven years and one pennant later, Collins has guided the Mets to a 549-581 record, a mediocre .486 winning percentage that a third wild card berth might make competitive. The news of the day was a New York Post report that the team’s next manager will have ties to the organization. Some of the names floated don’t inspire much confidence — retreads like Robin Ventura (.463 managerial winning percentage), Bob Geren (.470) and Chip Hale (.457) — though former BP’er Keith Law’s perennial favorite candidate, Alex Cora, is also on the list.

A Mets rumor article wouldn’t be complete without accompanying snark:

I love that they use a term normally reserved for criminal suspects when referring to potential Mets managers. https://t.co/oMNKVAxp2h pic.twitter.com/PBXtTIobBk

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) September 26, 2017

But wait! There’s more! Mere hours after the Post article informed readers that Sandy Alderson will advise Collins by Monday that he’ll manage the Mets no more, NorthJersey.com posted Collins’s own comments. While the Post speculated that the 68-year-old Collins would retire from baseball rather than suffer the indignity of having his contract expire, Collins insisted in the later piece that he’ll be in baseball next season — preferably with the Mets. It’s no secret that Fred Wilpon loves him some Terry Collins. He’s probably not above forcing the general manager’s hand. Optimistically, though, for those of us who are tired of watching Collins manufacture creative ways to bench Michael Conforto, if Wilpon were going to insist that Collins stay, the owner wouldn’t have allowed the manager’s contract to inch so close to expiration. He gone.

Aside from helming the 2015 NL champs and 2016 Wild Card Game loser, Collins may deserve some credit for presiding over R.A. Dickey’s 2012 Cy Young season. I’ll leave it to others to eulogize the soon-to-be-former manager, because last night’s game brought back fond memories of the knuckleballer who dominated opposing lineups for his three-year Mets career. Through six innings, Dickey demonstrated pinpoint control of the unpredictable pitch, retiring 13 straight at one point. Brandon Nimmo had two of the Mets’ five hits against Dickey, including a second-inning double that his teammates wasted. Nimmo’s second safety in the seventh immediately preceded Kevin Plawecki’s third dinger of the season. When Amed Rosario followed two batters later with a triple, Dickey’s night was over. The few Mets fans in attendance gave him a nice ovation as he departed.

Technically, Rafael Montero delivered a quality start in his season’s final appearance. Three runs in six innings, no matter what else a pitcher does, conforms to the stat’s definition. Why was Montero’s start less than quality? Let us count the ways. First, he gave up all three runs in the first two innings, putting his team into an early hole. Next, he allowed 10 baserunners in those six innings, a ratio that inspires little confidence. Finally, Montero threw his typical 100 pitches but only struck out three Braves. If Montero is anything more than Triple-A depth in 2018, whoever manages the Mets will see a bunch more games like last night’s.

Still, a quality start is “quality” because it keeps a team in the game. The Mets were able to scratch across the tying run in the eighth thanks to an error by anonymous Braves third baseman Johan Camargo. After Jeurys Familia preserved the tie in the top of the ninth, the Mets walked off thanks to a Kevin Plawecki single, a Dom Smith walk and a Travis Taijeron line drive to left that would have been caught by nearly anyone other than anonymous Braves left fielder Jace Peterson. In this battle of who could care less, the Mets scored four and the Braves only three.

Photo Credit: Noah K. Murray, USA Today Sports

Game 1

The Good

Frankly, there wasn’t much good to talk about from Monday’s first game. Juan Lagares gave us a pleasant surprise with a perfect day at the plate, going three for three with a run scored. The former Gold Glove center fielder seems to be finishing 2017 strong, with seven hits in 15 at-bats over his last four games. Any signs of life from Lagares are a welcomed sight, as there is still a fair amount of uncertainty regarding how this outfield is going to look in 2018. Other than Yoenis Cespedes, the rest is up for grabs thanks to Michael Conforto’s injury and subsequent surgery. Many are still holding out hope that Lagares can be the player he was in 2014, although I wouldn’t put too much stock in a guy who tends to wind up on the disabled list as often as he does.

The entirety of the Mets offense was fueled by Tomas Nido in this contest. Nido, the 23-year-old catcher from Puerto Rico, cracked a double in the bottom of the seventh to drive in Phil Evans and Lagares. The extra-base hit was the first of Nido’s career and the RBIs were his second and third. Given the inconsistency the Mets have shouldered at the catcher position, it’s safe to assume that the job is open in 2018 and with a strong finish over the last week of regular season play, Nido may just do enough to toss his name in the ring and be a dark horse candidate to win the job next spring.

The Bad

Receiving the spot start for this afternoon’s game was Chris Flexen, who last started on Sept. 3. The 23-year-old started well, limiting the Braves to one run (an Ozzie Albies solo home run) over his first five innings, but eventually ran into trouble in the sixth. After loading the bases, Flexen was pulled in favor of Josh Smoker, who allowed all three runners to score. Flexen finished with an unimpressive line of three hits, three walks, four strikeouts, and four earned runs.

The Ugly

Yesterday was just one of those games where the performance of the bullpen left you with nauseous feeling. Josh Smoker’s box score line looks pretty clean, but he was fortunate in that the three runs he allowed were charged to the starter. Every reliever who followed surrendered at least one hit and earned run. In total, Erik Goeddel, Kevin McGowan, and Jacob Rhame surrendered six hits, five earned runs, and three walks. It’s hard to blame the bullpen for the loss today given the lack of offense and rough effort from Flexen, but they certainly ensured the Mets wouldn’t fight their way back into this one.

If reading this hasn’t caused you enough pain already, every player in the Braves starting lineup recorded a hit, including their starting pitcher, Lucas Sims. Sims, a rookie from Lawrenceville, Georgia, shut the Mets out through the first six innings of this afternoon’s game, so feel free to add him to the list of no-name pitchers to dominate the Mets.

Game 2

The Good

As demoralizing as Game 1 of this doubleheader was, the Amazins rallied back in the second game, avoiding becoming a season-worst 25 games under .500. Seth Lugo put forth one of his best efforts of 2017 and notched his seventh win on the season, a sentiment that is even more impressive when you recall the fact that he has been battling a partially torn UCL in his pitching elbow. Lugo shut the Braves out over his six innings, allowing only two hits and no walks while striking out seven.

Jerry Blevins and Chasen Bradford contributed accordingly, keeping the Braves off the board for a combined two innings. Under normal circumstances their effort may seem a bit pedestrian, but when you contrast them to how awful the bullpen was yesterday afternoon, it’s nice to see the relievers do their jobs correctly.

Travis d’Arnaud had a night to remember (only because there are not too many to be had these days), knocking two hits in three trips to the plate and walking once. Following Asdrubal Cabrera’s RBI groundout in the third, d’Arnaud was able to extend the lead to 2-0 when he singled to center field to score Lagares. Facing Jose Ramirez (not to be confused with Cleveland’s MVP candidate), d’Arnaud launched one over the left-center field fence to extend the Amazins’ lead to 3-0. This would prove to be the deciding run after the Braves etched across two runs in the ninth. Monday night’s effort is a momentary sigh of relief for d’Arnaud in the midst of another disappointing season. Sit back and smell the roses, Travis, because you very well may not be a starter anymore come spring training.

Brandon Nimmo and Matt Reynolds each had a solid night at the plate. Nimmo cracked two doubles and a single in four plate appearances and Reynolds singled twice. While Reynolds ultimately has cemented his fate as a utility-man, Brandon Nimmo is starting to open some eyes on whether he can be an everyday player. Last night’s effort raised his batting average to .274 and his OBP to a .393 clip. Numbers like that are at least worth the discussion of whether Nimmo could have a starting job in 2018.

The Bad

2017 is just not Jeurys Familia’s year. Between the blood clot issue and his struggles on the mound, you can count on the fact that he’s eager to start the 2018 season and wipe the slate clean. Monday night’s outing was a textbook example, as he came very close to blowing a three-run lead. Despite surrendering an RBI single to Jace Peterson and an RBI groundout to Matt Kemp, Familia avoided a complete meltdown en route to his fifth save of the season.

Despite a measured level of success with the Las Vegas 51s, Travis Taijeron has failed to get it going at the Major League level. An 0-3 effort tonight lowered his batting average to a crisp .159. Not that Taijeron factored into the Mets’ long term plans at all, but his September cup of coffee put him in a position where he had more to gain than to lose. Unfortunately, some players are just stuck in the purgatory that is being too good for Triple-A, not good enough for the MLB.

What’s Next

The Mets take on a familiar face in R.A. Dickey tonight with a resurgent Rafael Montero toeing the rubber at 7:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Any time a pitcher is among the league leaders in walks, we probably imagine they are a “Wild Thing” like Ricky Vaughn from Major League. Some pitchers can be pretty effective even if they don’t quite know where the ball is going. When it comes to real life wild things, we expect inconsistency. Sometimes the pitcher knows exactly where the pitch is going and they get a strikeout. Sometimes they throw it to the backstop. Montero stands out because his walks are so consistent and predictable. He has the walks, but rarely flashes the upside and potential of other young starters with high walk rates.

Montero’s last batter sums up his approach pretty well. The Mets led 2-1 in the top of the fifth. Montero must have known he needed to be more efficient to go beyond the fifth, but he didn’t change his approach. With one on and two outs, he threw four straight changeups to Scott Schebler. Three of the changeups were out of the zone. Montero wanted to end his outing on a “perfect” pitch and kept nibbling out of the strike zone. Down 3-1, he threw a slider and managed to get a ground ball to end the inning.

That’s what we get in a relatively good Montero outing. He didn’t leave any mistakes over the middle of the plate. He didn’t hang any breaking balls. Montero seemed to be going out of his way to avoid the strike zone. He carried himself like a pitcher who was executing his game plan. His game plan was just so risk averse that Reds’ hitters could stare at ball four and take their free base.

We’ve all seen young pitchers who were wild to start their big league careers, then learn some command. Randy Johnson started his career with so little command that the Expos gave up on him before he blossomed into a Hall of Famer (editor’s note: This is not to imply that Rafael Montero is a future Hall of Famer). Montero had a few good starts, but for the most part he looks like the exact same pitcher he was when he got called up in 2014. He seems so afraid of big league hitters that he refuses to enter the strike zone any more than possible.

When I watched Robert Gsellman earlier this season, I didn’t get the same feeling. Gsellman was clearly trying to throw a sinker with more downwards break than lateral break. However, he couldn’t get that pitch to move like it did in 2016. The sinker was always flat. He either hung his slider or missed well out of the zone. Watching Gsellman, it was clear that the ball was not going where he intended it to go. That’s a mechanical issue that some pitchers can fix. Watching Montero last night, it felt clear that there is no obvious mechanical fix to improve his command.

Kevin Plawecki gave the Mets all the offense they would need with a two-run homer in the second. Dom Smith added a clutch two-out run in the sixth, and the Mets tacked on three more in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Phil Evans, who won the AA Eastern League batting title in 2016, got his first big league hit with a hustle double down the third base line.

It wouldn’t be a Mets game without some bizarre managing, and Terry Collins gave us another head-scratcher in the seventh. Matt Reynolds was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Travis Taijeron was on deck, but Collins pulled him back and asked Jacob deGrom to pinch bunt. A day after Milwaukee’s Jimmy Nelson hurt his rotator cuff running the bases, I can’t see why the Mets would risk deGrom with additional play in the field. If Taijeron isn’t good enough to play on a depleted roster, why is he on the 40-man roster? Then again, this is the team that keeps starting Jose Reyes instead of seeing if Gavin Cecchini can play. deGrom ended up walking and Amed Rosario came in as a pinch runner.

What’s Next?

The Mets look for a sweep against the Reds. Tanking is harder than it looks.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

As fans and as humans, we’re predisposed to grant preeminence to events that are freshest in our minds. They call it recency bias. Recently, the Mets have won three games in a row. They’re a .500 team over their last 10 games. Since coming off the disabled list on August 26, Jose Reyes has an OPS over 1.000 while scoring 15 runs in just 13 games. Over 130 big-league plate appearances in 2017, Brandon Nimmo has a .419 on-base percentage. Seth Lugo now has a FIP under 4.00 for the season. Even Travis Taijeron looks like a contributor when he hits his first major-league home run. These are all positive, optimistic observations.

Some might argue that this uptick in performance is just more Metsing: This team should lose as much as it can to secure a higher draft pick. Winning when the playoffs are out of reach is the worst thing a team can do. What’s to be gained from beating up on Phillies and Reds squads that have always been playing for next year or the year after? I guess it’s nice when a 28-year-old rookie gets his first dinger in the Show.

You’re a Mets fan. You wouldn’t be here otherwise. You’re tired of nerve irritation and hamstring pulls. You’ve had it with broken noses and shoulder dislocations. You’re especially fed up with salary dumps and promises to reinvest in next year’s roster. Does a 5-1 Mets win over a Reds team that’s 20 games under .500 relieve you of any of that frustration?

Even when you’re supposed to enjoy a relaxing Friday night ballgame, even when your team emerges victorious, there’s still so much angst.

Photo Credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports

Sinkerball pitchers rely on late downward movement to induce weak ground balls, but Gsellman hasn’t had that in 2017. His fastball tends to tail in to right-handers more than it tails down. The Nationals looked at Gsellman’s poor command and put together a simple game plan: take the pitch that starts near the bottom of the strike zone, because it will sink out of the zone. Take most of the breaking pitches, because Gsellman can’t throw them for strikes consistently. Just wait for mistakes and hit them up the middle. And it worked, as the Nationals got nine hits in 21 at-bats, versus only five swings and misses.

If the Mets played outstanding infield defense, Gsellman’s outing may not have been so bad. In the bottom of the first, Wilmer Difo grounded to Wilmer Flores at first. Gsellman had to look down to find the bag, so he took his eye off Flores’ wide throw and missed the catch. Anthony Rendon doubled, and Difo scored on a wild pitch. Adam Lind grounded up the middle to Rosario, who was shifted perfectly. The young shortstop thought he could wait for the ball to reach him then throw home, but Rendon read the play perfectly and beat the throw. Then Matt Wieters struck out. If the Mets made either of those two fielding plays, it would end the inning. Instead, Gsellman gave up a single, a walk, and another single before retiring the pitcher for the last out.

Gsellman didn’t get much better. Terry Collins pushed him to go four innings because of today’s doubleheader in a futile attempt to save the bullpen. The Mets were able to get a run back in the third inning off of a Jose Reyes double and Juan Lagares line drive single. By the end of the fourth inning, it was 6-1 Nationals. Ironically Gsellman lowered his ERA because his error made all of the first inning runs unearned.

Flores was the main bright spot in this dreary game. He went 4-for-4 with a home run and an opposite field double in the eighth that made the score 6-4. Nationals fans probably looked at their bullpen and said “this can’t be happening again!” Kevin Plawecki singled with two outs to bring up Travis Taijeron to the plate as the potential go-ahead run. It could have been a storybook moment. Rookie callup takes a cross-country redeye and delivers a go-ahead RBI in his first big league game.  Taijeron reached for the first pitch and broke his bat on a routine grounder to end the threat.

Jeurys Familia came in for the first time since May 10 and didn’t look close to regaining his closer role. He couldn’t get the sinker down or get any swings and misses. Instead, he gave up four hits, two walks, and allowed three runs to score. The scariest moment was when he threw inside to Adrian Sanchez as he was attempting to bunt. The 97 mph fastball hit Sanchez square in the chest, knocking him down for several minutes. Sanchez stayed in the game and hit an RBI single before being lifted for a pinch runner.

Roster Moves:

With a left-hander on the mound, Terry Collins sat out Dominic Smith once again. Collins was terrified of giving Michael Conforto opportunities against lefties, so this might be the same pattern. On the other hand, the Mets have not had an off day since Smith was called up on August 10. It may be a good idea to give the remaining healthy players a few days off to make sure they don’t get ground in to the disabled list as well. I’m not going to worry as much unless Smith is benched versus a lefty after an off day or after he’s already been benched.

Jose Reyes came off the disabled list and led off against the left-hander. Hopefully this is a sign that the front office wants to tank. There’s no other reason to give Reyes regular starts at this point. The Mets need to see if Flores could play second or third every day. They also need to see if callup Gavin Cecchini can hit at the major league level. With Cespedes out, Brandon Nimmo played left field and Taijeron played right. There is no natural outfielder on the bench, so expect this configuration for a while.

What’s Next?

It’s a Sunday doubleheader. Tommy Milone faces Tanner Roark in the day game, 1:35 p.m. on SNY. The night game is on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Seth Lugo and Max Scherzer are both expected to come off the DL to start the nightcap.

Photo credit: Brad Mills – USA Today Sports

Chasen Bradford: Bradford, like the majority of invitees, is a pitcher whose presence suggests the Mets are looking to bulk up the bullpen. Originally drafted in 2011, Bradford has been with the 51s since 2015. Though his ERA spiked to 4.80 in 2016, his career overall of 3.42 is stronger, and he’s shown time and again that he can handle the pressure, earning five of six saves in 2016, and 36 of a possible 48 across his career thus far.

Xorge Carrillo: The only non-roster catcher to attend spring training, Carrillo was also a 2011 Mets’ draft pick. He began in Brooklyn, and spent 2016 in Binghamton and Las Vegas, where he batted .333 and .269, respectively, slashing .257/.328/.354 over his career.

P.J. Conlon: A 23-year-old Northern Ireland-native, Conlon is an intriguing prospect beyond his heritage. The lefty was the Mets’ 13th-round draft pick in 2015, and has already played with the Cyclones, St. Lucie Mets, and Columbia Fireflies. At 5’11,” Conlon is the shortest of the pitching invitees, but so far his performance suggests he’ll be a force to be reckoned with: he’s gone 12-3 with one save and an ERA of 1.47 across 41 games.

Phillip Evans: A 24-year-old infielder, Evans was drafted out of high school in 2011, and had his best season yet in 2016 split between Binghamton and St. Lucie, slashing .321/.366/.460 with eight of his 19 career home runs. Over his five-year career, Evans has hit .255/.318/.344.

Luis Guillorme*: A 10th-round draft pick in 2013, the infielder started in the Gulf Coast League and spent 2016 with the St. Lucie Mets, where he hit his first professional home run. Guillorme hit .285/.355/.326 across his career, with 34 stolen bases.

( * – Editor’s Note: Please email Jeff Paternostro with any and all questions about Guillorme.)

Kevin McGowan: The tallest invitee on the list, 25-year-old McGowan fits neatly between other leggy pitchers Syndergaard (6’6″) and deGrom (6’4″) at 6’5”.  A 13th-round draft pick in 2013, the righty spent 2016 moving between Las Vegas, Binghamton and St. Lucie, going 5-1 with two saves and an ERA of 2.35, the best of his career so far.

David Roseboom: This lefty was a 2014 draft pick and spent 2016 in Binghamton, where he managed 14 saves (in 15 opportunities) with an ERA of 1.87 across 52 games. Over his career, he’s gone 5-3 with 26 saves and an ERA of 2.26.

Ben Rowen: Originally a 2010 Texas draft pick, the 28-year-old made his major-league debut in 2014, in an eight-game run with the Rangers. He was called up for four games by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016. Though both his stints in the majors have been middling (and short), his minor-league stats are impressive: 25-10 with 43 saves and an ERA of 1.85. Here’s hoping a spring training invite allows Rowen time to shake loose the nerves and show the majors some of his good stuff.

Paul Sewald: This righty pitcher was a 10th-round draft pick for the Mets in 2010, and spent 2016 in Las Vegas, where he went 5-3 with 19 saves and an ERA of 3.29. Over his time with Mets affiliates, he’s gone 16-8 with 66 saves and an ERA of 2.20.

Dominic Smith: Smith is the youngest of this year’s invitees—he’ll be 21 upon his arrival in Port St. Lucie. The infielder was drafted from his California high school by the Mets in 2013, their first round pick, and just finished off a great season in Binghamton, where he hit .302/.367/.457 with 14 home runs. I’ll be excited to see how this slugger holds up when he faces off against some major-league arms.

Champ Stuart: With a name like “Champ,” he’s gotta be good! Also an early draft pick from 2013 (the Mets’ sixth-round choice), this outfielder—given name “Jervis”—split time between Binghamton and the St. Lucie Mets in 2016. He hit .240/.314/.349 with eight home runs across the two teams, and he’s lightning fast; he’s managed 40 stolen bases in 114 games.

Corey Taylor: This 24-year-old righty pitcher was a seventh-round draft pick in 2015, and has done well in his time with the Cyclones and St. Lucie Mets. Over his two-year, 63-game career, he’s gone 5-6 with an ERA of 1.77 and 20 saves.

Logan Taylor: No relation to the aforementioned Taylor above, this 25-year-old, also a right-handed pitcher, was drafted by the Mets in 2012. He went 4-2 in Binghamton in 2016 and has a career ERA of 3.26 across 99 games.

Travis Taijeron: A 2011 draft pick for the Mets, this left fielder has spent the past two years in Las Vegas, where he hit 25 home runs in 2015, and 19 in 2016, batting slightly above his career average of .269/.370/.512. This slugger’s got power, and 110 career MiLB home runs to prove it; fingers crossed his swing is just as deadly in the big leagues.

Adam Wilk: At 29, Wilk is the oldest invitee on the list. (And yet still slightly younger than I am. Sigh.). Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, he’s already got his feet wet in the majors—he had runs in 2011 and 2012 with the Tigers, and two innings with the Angels in 2015. 2016 was not his best year—he went 2-8 with the Triple-A Durham Bulls, but I’ll indulge the Mets pitching staff here in the hope he can combine the mojo from his earlier days with his major-league experience and put his best arm forward for 2017. Wilk has a career ERA 3.59 across 153 games.

Photo Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA Today Sports

It Is Certain

Michael Conforto: Through Tuesday, Conforto has hit .493/.541/.821 over 74 plate appearances in his latest return engagement to Las Vegas. 74 plate appearances isn’t much, and the PCL is the PCL and Vegas is Vegas, but if you hit .493 with power for more than a couple weeks anywhere—Vegas, a complex league, the moon—people will notice. With Jay Bruce stumbling towards an ignominious and unexpectedly quick end to his Mets tenure (and Curtis Granderson and Alejandro de Aza both still underperforming) little should stand in the way of Conforto. But that’s been the case for most of the season, and true to form, Terry Collins has thrown cold water on the idea that he’s more than “in the mix.”

Kevin Plawecki: The most obvious September call-up is always the third catcher, especially for a manager who manages in fear of running out of catchers. Plawecki is the extra catcher on the 40-man, so he’s back. He hit .300 in Vegas, and while everyone hits .300 in Vegas, Plawecki had pointedly not actually hit .300 in his previous tenures in Vegas. Maybe that’s the sign of life in his bat. Maybe it’s a dead cat bounce in the Pacific Coast League. While BP’s catching metrics and evaluators like Keith Law love Plawecki’s defense, the Mets themselves seem enamored with Rene Rivera’s veteran-ness and arm, to the point that he’s cut heavily into Travis d’Arnaud’s playing time—he’s now the personal catcher to not only Noah Syndergaard, but also Seth Lugo. So Plawecki might not be playing much going forward, or even in 2017.

Gabriel Ynoa: Ynoa not starting the Monday tilt against Jose Fernandez and the Marlins is one of the more baffling process decisions of the season. He’s now fully stretched back out as a starter—he’s thrown consecutive eight-inning starts for Vegas—but the Mets are at least one and maybe two injuries from needing his services in that capacity again. Still, he’s a familiar presence as an arm now, and should be entrusted with long and middle relief. And the Mets are probably going to need more spot starters, of course.

Ty Kelly: Kelly’s inclusion on the initial call-up list comes as a surprise, because he was also included on Team Israel’s roster for the World Baseball Classic qualifying round starting September 22 in Brooklyn. It’s possible the Mets will let him leave for a few days. Hell, it’s possible he’s on both rosters at once, subject to traffic on the BQE.

Signs Point To Yes

Brandon Nimmo: Nimmo has quietly taken the lead in the race for the PCL batting title, hitting .351 overall on the season. The top three are all Las Vegas 51s, so again, this is as much about the park as it is anything else, but still, it’s better to hit well than to not hit well. He’s the one genuine surprise omission from Helfand’s initial list, since he already has major league service and adds defensive, speed, and pinch-hitting utility to the major league club. I suspect the Mets are content to let him finish out a season in the PCL over the weekend that may bring home some hardware before bringing him back, but we’ll see.

T.J. Rivera: Rivera was optioned after Sunday’s game to make room for Rafael Montero. He’s obviously coming back, but roster rules prevent his recall until 10 days have passed, someone goes on the DL, or his team’s minor league season ends. Vegas finishes up Monday afternoon and is functionally out of PCL playoff contention, so Rivera should be back Tuesday.

Erik Goeddel: Goeddel is in the same option purgatory as Rivera, and will also be back soon enough. Since he was sent out after last Wednesday’s game, the Mets could bring him back as early as late this weekend, or could just wait to save on bulk plane flights.

Matt Reynolds: With lingering health questions over middle infielders Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, it’s a little surprising not to see Reynolds back at the first available opportunity, although Kelly Johnson and Jose Reyes have picked up a lot of the role that Reynolds provided earlier in the season. Reynolds hasn’t hit much in the majors or minors this season, but he seems to be something of an organizational and managerial favorite. Even still, he’s probably going to be sweating the 40-man cuts this offseason.

Rafael Montero: Montero’s five shutout innings on Monday were, like much of his last few seasons, quite the high-wire act, including six walks. I don’t know precisely how he fits on this September roster, because he’s adjusted very poorly to the bullpen in the past and yet doesn’t rate to get starts, but I suspect the Monday start ensures that he’ll be around as the extra arm in case a game goes 16 innings or the Mets need an emergency spot start. He’s a day behind Rivera in option purgatory, but Binghamton isn’t making the playoffs either, so he should be back sometime around Tuesday. Given his awful performance in Las Vegas and clashes with the organization, Montero is a stealth candidate to be excised from the 40-man this offseason.

Reply Hazy, Try Again

Zack Wheeler: Okay, so Wheeler isn’t quite a minor leaguer, but he was supposed to functionally be a September call-up, at least after July and August went out the window. Wheeler had a setback two weeks ago that was supposed to sideline him for, well, two weeks. There isn’t much of an update of when–or if—he’ll make his 2016 debut past that.

Josh Edgin: Edgin looked bad enough earlier this month that while it might not be a lock that he gets recalled instead of designated for assignment. He turns 30 this offseason, is arbitration-eligible, will be out of options next year, and has no obvious major league role moving forward. 2016 could be his Met swan song either way.

Eric Campbell: One of the most perplexing aspects of the Collins/Alderson Mets tenure is how Eric Campbell has gotten 491 plate appearances to hit an anemic .221/.310/.312 while playing almost exclusively at the corners. He may get recalled again just because he’s on the 40-man and the manager seems to love him, though Adam Rubin has suggested that he’s on the bubble. It’s implausible to believe that he’ll survive on the roster this offseason, but that was true last offseason too, and he did.

Gavin Cecchini: The next four guys are the guys off the Triple-A roster who aren’t on the 40 yet that the Mets could plausibly make room for. Of the four, Cecchini is the significant prospect of the group. He’s third in the PCL batting race behind Nimmo and Rivera, hitting .330, and he has to be added to the 40-man after the season. Helfand has reported that the Mets may send Cecchini to the Arizona Fall League after the minor league season instead of to the majors, in part to learn second base. After Dilson Herrera was traded to the Reds, Sandy Alderson mentioned Cecchini as a 2017 second base candidate depending on the status of Neil Walker, so that would make some sense.

Roger Bernadina: Bernadina represents a typical September call-up type, a speed and defense outfielder who can be an early-inning pinch-hitter or a late-inning pinch-runner and provide some veteran presence. But he’s really duplicative of Alejandro de Aza, who is himself duplicative of Curtis Granderson, who is himself somewhat duplicative of Michael Conforto … you can see the logjam forming here. There may simply just be better candidates to clear a roster spot for.

Travis Taijeron: Taijeron, a frequent concern of avid Mets fans, put up a second straight perfectly good season in Triple-A Las Vegas. As a right-handed backup corner outfielder with some pop, he would provide some utility off the bench that the Mets currently don’t have. But he’s never been up before, and the Mets tend to trend towards filling these spots with more known quantities. And the park/league conditions at Las Vegas make one skeptical that Taijeron’s game would translate at all.

Paul Sewald: In a perfect world, Paul Sewald absolutely deserves a call-up. He’s put up a 3.39 ERA and struck out 11 per nine innings in Vegas, which as I’ve noted repeatedly is a terrible, awful place to pitch. He’s pitched well at every level, a $1,000 senior sign made good. There was a very compelling story in a local Las Vegas paper earlier this year explaining his background, how far he’s come, and what a struggle the minors are like for a player in his shoes. But the Mets just don’t churn relievers at the back of the 40-man the way other clubs do—that whole familiar faces thing again—and while I’m rooting for him to come up, I’m not all that optimistic that he will.

Very Doubtful

Amed Rosario: Top prospects just generally don’t get called up to the majors anymore for the September cup-of-coffee unless they have a defined role. Keith Law wrote eloquently about this for ESPN this past week. Rosario is the type of prospect that would’ve gotten called up in the past—he’s hit .324 at Double-A and needs to go on the 40-man after the season anyways. But he wouldn’t start and probably wouldn’t play much, and promoting Rosario now would burn a month of service time. The Mets are one of the most service-conscious teams in the majors, and just won’t do it. He could be up as soon as the late-April depending on offseason moves and his showing in major league camp next year, though.

Dominic Smith: Smith is in basically the same position as Rosario, with two major caveats. With James Loney’s return to pumpkindom, Smith might actually be the best first baseman available to the Mets right now, not that it means that Terry Collins would play him. But Smith doesn’t have to go on the 40-man until after the 2017 season, which all but eliminates his chances of coming up this year. The Mets are likely to find a bridge to Smith for 2017, whether that means handing an outfielder like Conforto or Granderson a first base glove or bringing back Lucas Duda, but he also could make his major league debut sometime next year.

Photo Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports