Mock Expansion Draft

[nymr83]

This looked like a fun exercise. The Athletic is running a series of articles on a mock expansion to 32 teams with team name votes, the writers for each of the 30 teams protecting players, and then later this week the actual mock draft.



The rules for protection are as follows:

-Anyone who has ever appeared in the majors needs to be protected.

-Anyone who has not appeared in the majors does not need to be protected.

-Each team can protect 15

-Each expansion team can draft one player per team (so the Mets could lose 2 max.)

-The draft takes place in the theoretical offseason, so 2021 Free Agents need not be protected



Who would you protect if you were the Mets?

Mets writer Tim Britton says:

Protected players: 1B Pete Alonso, SP Jacob deGrom, INF Jeff McNeil, OF Dominic Smith, OF Brandon Nimmo, RP Edwin Díaz, SP Carlos Carrasco, RP Seth Lugo, 3B J.D. Davis, RP Trevor May, SP Taijuan Walker, OF Khalil Lee, SP David Peterson, SP Tylor Megill, SS Francisco Lindor Top five unprotected: C James McCann, C Tomás Nido, 3B Luis Guillorme, RP Miguel Castro, RP Drew Smith

Personally, I would protect Nido instead of Lee - or maybe I would take a big risk and protect Nido instead of Lindor - Is an expansion team really going to want Lindor's contract? I don't think you can reasonably leave both catchers unprotected as Tim does.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't remember if Lindor has a no-trade in his contract. If he does I think he'd be required to be protected.

[Centerfield]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I don't remember if Lindor has a no-trade in his contract. If he does I think he'd be required to be protected.

If that's true then you also have to protect Robinson Cano.

[nymr83]

I 1000% forgot that Cano was a New York Met.