He's a depth piece. If I remember right, an arb-eligible player is only guaranteed the money if he begins the season on the team or accepts a demotion should he not make the team. That means the Mets could DFA him before the season starts, and another team would have to take his contract if they claim him or he'd walk away from money he wouldn't get back should he declare fee agency. The Dodgers do this sort of thing often. This is shaping up to be the third straight year that the Mets open with two righthanded, glove first outfielders. (I'm counting Robert as glove first because his last two seasons give me no reason to do otherwise.) It's a waste of a roster spot, again. I'm not sure Melendez could outperform Baty or Mauricio overall as a leftfielder. In fact, given that Melendez is a fairly known commodity, I think you have to be rooting against it.