Four Names Off the 40-Man: What the Mets' Roster Cleanup Says About the Winter Ahead

Nobody throws a parade for a waiver wire cleanup, but the first weekend of November is when a front office shows its hand. The Mets just trimmed their 40-man roster from 43 down to 39, outrighting outfielder Cristian Pache, infielder Eric Wagaman, lefty Philip Abner and righty Cameron Weston. It is small news with a big message: David Stearns is clearing the desk before the real shopping starts.

Start with the two position players, because their stories are about how the season went. Pache was a minor league signing who only reached the big club after the trade deadline, and he got into 15 games, almost always as a late-inning glove. His career OPS sits at .514 across 618 plate appearances. Wagaman arrived from Minnesota on a waiver claim back in April and hit .191 in 52 plate appearances before getting bumped off the roster in May. Both have been outrighted before, so they can choose free agency, and it would be a surprise to see either one back in Queens.

The pitchers are different. Abner and Weston were September waiver claims, the kind of lottery tickets teams buy in bulk. Abner, a lefty who once went in the sixth round to Arizona, threw 22 2/3 big league innings with a 6.75 ERA and walked 14. Weston, an eighth-rounder out of the Baltimore system, got one scoreless inning in his debut on May 28 and then posted a 1.42 ERA over 6 1/3 Triple-A innings. Abner cleared waivers and stays in the organization, and it would not shock me if both end up on minor league deals as depth.

Here is why a fan should care. A 40-man roster is a budget of spots, and every spot spent on a fringe player is a spot you cannot hand to a free agent or a Rule 5 pickup or a trade acquisition. Sitting at 39 means the Mets can add a starter, a bullpen arm and a bat without playing musical chairs, and nobody has to be designated for assignment just to make room. That flexibility matters most on the first day a deal lands.

And there are deals to be made. The needs are not a mystery: rotation help is the headline, then relief arms, a first baseman, and a couple of depth outfielders. The Pache and Wagaman departures actually underline that last one. Bench outfield defense and utility depth were filler all year, and filler is exactly what a contender should not be counting on in April. If the front office wants to avoid another summer of waiver-claim roulette, it needs real depth signed this winter rather than scavenged in September.

There is a fair counterargument. Clearing four guys with nothing to lose costs no real talent, so you could say this is paperwork. I would not dismiss it, though. How a team handles the bottom of the roster tells you whether it plans its depth or improvises it. The Mets improvised too often in 2026, and a tidier 39 is at least a sign the plan for 2027 starts with space.

What to watch next: the free agent market is now open, so the first signing or trade will show which hole the Mets consider most urgent. Also keep an eye on who gets added to the 40-man for protection and whether Abner or Weston reappear on minor league deals. Those quiet notes are how you can read the roster before the big names move.

So here is my take, Mets fans: the cleanup is not exciting, but it is the right first step. Now we find out what they plan to fill those spots with. What is the one move you want on the first day? Sound off in the comments.