Mets remove Jim Henderson and Eric Campbell from 40-man roster

The Mets have removed infielder Eric Campbell and relief pitcher Jim Henderson from their 40-man roster. Henderson has elected free agency, while Campbell was outrighted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Neither Campbell nor Henderson was particularly effective for the 2016 Mets, so the moves will hopefully open up room for younger talent.

Campbell spent most of this season in Las Vegas, hitting .301/.390/.447 in 354 plate appearances. However, during his stint in the big leagues, he only hit for a .607 OPS despite a 13-percent walk rate. While Soup has shown the ability to make opposing pitchers work and play multiple positions in the majors, his lack of speed or power doesn’t make him the most appealing option at the plate.

Henderson got off to a great start in 2016 with a 1.08 ERA in April and looked like a terrific reclamation project. As the year wore on, though, a shoulder injury and ineffectiveness limited him to just 13 appearances following the All-Star break. Henderson’s high walk rate was sometimes an issue, but his biggest problem was the home run ball. The Canadian right-hander’s fly-ball tendencies led to him giving up seven long balls in just 35 innings.

The Mets’ 40-man roster now stands at 38 players, but that does not include six players on the 60-day disabled list. Of that group, David Wright, Matt Harvey, and Zack Wheeler are under contract for next season, while Neil Walker will soon become a free agent and both Jon Niese and Justin Ruggiano are not expected to be retained. With Bartolo Colon, Alejandro De Aza, and Jerry Blevins also becoming free agents at the end of the official league year, the 40-man roster will soon be down to 35 players.