When the 2011 season ended, the Mets seemed to have their outfield for the following season all set. The starters appeared to be Jason Bay, Lucas Duda and Angel Pagan while the reserves figured to be Nick Evans and Jason Pridie.
Evans finally seemed ready to take up a permanent spot on the club, after years of getting jerked around, thanks to a solid second half in which he posted a .738 OPS in 170 PA. Pridie was not as good offensively, but he filled the need for a backup center fielder and the Mets were 20-12 last year in games he started in CF.
But both players were cut loose by the Mets, as the club faced something of a 40-man roster crunch. In order to protect up-and-coming youngsters like Jeurys Familia and Wilmer Flores – and to be fair others like Armando Rodriguez and Josh Stinson – the Mets bid adieu to two players who seemed to have a spot on the 2012 club.
So, who will be the team’s backup outfielders this year?
Once again, let’s look at the 40-man roster. ...
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