The Mets cut three players from their 40-man roster Friday night, including outfielder Alex Ramirez, a former top prospect who didn’t develop the way they anticipated upon signing him to a $2.1 million bonus in 2019.
Also dropped were relievers Alex Young and Grant Hartwig. All three became free agents.
Additionally, the Mets agreed to a one-year contract with reliever Sean Reid-Foley, avoiding arbitration.
Ramirez, who will still be just 22 years old in 2025, was regarded as a high-end defender in recent years. But he never quite learned to hit in the pro ranks, including at Double-A last season, when he had a .210 average and .590 OPS. With his prospect shine long since faded, the Mets decided to release him entirely instead of waiting another year to see if he would figure it out.
Friday was the so-called nontender deadline, the point in the offseason at which teams needed to commit to offering contracts to arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players. Specific salaries for those players typically are decided on in January or February.
The Mets tendered contracts to everybody else who fell into this category, including righthander Paul Blackburn, righthander Tylor Megill, lefthander David Peterson and outfielder Tyrone Taylor.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
