Context: Andy Martino of the Daily News reported today that Miguel Batista has a leg up in the race for the Mets’ last spot in the bullpen. A lot can change between now and Opening Day obviously and y’all know I’m hardly a scoops guy, but it’s worth at least noting that I heard the same thing stated in somewhat stronger terms by someone inside the organization yesterday.

It seems to make sense: As far as I understand it, thanks to the new CBA the Mets have to put the veteran Batista on the roster, release him within five days of Opening Day, or give him a $100 thousand roster bonus and a June 1 opt-out clause if he goes to Triple-A (assuming he doesn’t have an earlier opt-out clause built in to his deal already). So there could be a Brad Emaus Factor in play: The Mets keep Batista out of Spring Training because it’s the best way to keep as many of the pitchers they value inside the organization.

For what it’s worth, Batista’s a pretty weird pitcher. His peripheral numbers aren’t much to look at, but nearly every year he winds up with an ERA+ at or above league average. Also: He writes novels and loves Kenny G. Batista will be 41 all year.

When I did these out before Spring Training I had this figure way lower, but I’m upping it after the recent reports.

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