Mets designate Gonzalez Germen to make room for John Mayberry Jr.

After reportedly signing outifelder John Mayberry Jr. to a one-year, major league contract last week, the Mets have designated right-handed reliever Gonzalez Germen for assignment, according to Marc Carig of Newsday. The move allows the Mayberry signing to become official and for the Mets to add him to the 40-man roster.

Germen showed flashes of being an effective major league reliever in 2013, posting a 3.93 ERA and 2.90 FIP over 34.1 innings pitched. However, he struggled with both injuries and poor pitching in 2014, posting a 4.75 ERA and 5.57 FIP in the majors and spending significant time with Triple-A Las Vegas. Germen's inflated numbers in 2014 can be explained by a significant increase in his home runs allowed. The 27-year-old gave up just 0.26 home runs per nine innings in 2013. In 2014, that number jumped to 2.08, an eightfold increase. His K/9, BB/9, and BABIP all remained very similar to the previous year.

In our 2014 review series we speculated that Germen would get another chance to play a significant role in the Mets bullpen this year. It appears the Mets may have other ideas.