The bench currently has Matthews, Cora, and a backup catcher (take your pick). Pagan will likely be relegated there when Beltran returns, but in the meantime I’d guess Nick Evans or Chris Carter have a real shot at that spot (before we start passing out minor league deals). That leaves one bench spot open.

I don’t really believe outfield cover is all that important at this point. Pagan and Matthews can both cover all three outfield positions, and guys like Evans, Carter, and Martinez will all be available in Buffalo for a call-up if needed. Garko could be used there in a pinch while someone is on their way up from AAA, but I don’t think anyone would expect him to cover the position long term.

Middle infield is probably covered at this point. Cora can back up both spots, and if a middle infielder goes down I think the Mets would be forced to bring someone up to cover the spot. It really doesn’t make alot of sense to carry two guys on the bench who’s primary role is a backup middle infielder just due to their limited use as a pinch hitter. I guess my opinion on that would change if one of those backups was Castillo, but that’s pretty unlikely.

That realistically leaves some cover needed for 1st and 3rd. Wright doesn’t get many days off, and If he goes to the dl I think calling up a 3rd baseman would be necessary. Cora has some limited experience there, and Murph has played there quite a bit in the minors. 1st base with Murphy is likely a place where a bench piece would see some regular action, so I feel like getting a guy who compliments Murph well is what we should be looking for in that bench spot. That leaves two real good fits in my opinion…Fernando Tatis and Ryan Garko.

Tatis has the versatility to cover 3rd for a dl trip if we need it, while Garko is younger and just entering his arbitration phase. Both are likely to sign a 1 year deal, but I like that Garko would still be under team control going forward. His ability to mash lefties has shown in the past to have value on the trade market, as the Giants traded a top ten prospect for him just last july. His ability to mash lefties could also have an impact off the bench in every single game this season, which is something that we don’t have on the bench at this point.

Not that he’d be the best fit for a platoon partner with Murphy, but simply because no one in management even cares about him.

look delgado is done he will be lucky to be a d.h. garko is the way to go plus if they dont get him they will have fernando tatis which would be a last resort in my opinion ..

No more tatis… For some reason Manuel refused to play anybody but him and he was terrible last season… It’s time we see what we have… Let Murph play EVERYDAY if he fails he fails… but atleast he got a fair shot instead of pluggin him in once a week then sitting him because he was 0-3… Manuel said he would play consistently when he started hitting consistently, well how is it possible to hit consistently when you don’t consistently get at bats… Pinch hitting is not an easy job.
             Another thing, with Manuel’s out right refusal to play Murphy against lefties, or for that matter play any lefty hitters against lefty pitching, we were constantly shuffling the lineup, let him get his at bats and learn to hit MLB lefthanders… The same thing happened to thole at the end of the season… They ended up splitting his time so he wouldn’t see action against lefty pitchers where he had success against lefties in the minors, yes not as much success as he had against righties, but his numbers weren’t dismal.
     I think Manuel is a bigger problem than the players… He needs to go… He shuffles the lineup too much… yes we had injuries, but your starters have to play everyday, I recall him sitting our starters against the Marlins in the rubber game of the series, we lost because Josh Johnson completely dominated our back up players, it was early in the season as well, so they shouldn’t have needed a rest.