Alex

Ramirez

Ramirez was non-tendered by the Mets in late November after hitting just .210/.291/.299 in Double-A last season. However, he is just 21 years old and was once a top prospect for the Mets, so the team is certainly hoping they can help him rediscover the potential he had once shown.

Even though it’s doubtful they would have lost him, the Mets added Ramirez to the 40-man and protected him from the Rule 5 draft after a mediocre year in high-A in 2023. He wound up hitting .210/.291/.299 as a 21-year-old in Double-A last season. The tools remain plentiful, but there wasn’t any reason to keep him on the 40-man now. He’ll probably return on a minor league deal.

There are no big surprises among this batch of cuts for the Mets, though Hartwig, Walker and Smith are all likely to see action out of the Mets’ bullpen at some point during the upcoming 2024 season. Hartwig, 26, made 28 appearances for the Mets during the 2023 season — posting a 4.84 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and a 30/15 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings of work.

Ramirez, 20, spent the entire 2023 season at High-A Brooklyn where he slashed .221/.310/.317 with seven homers, 53 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 521 plate appearances. Despite the struggles, the Mets are still enamored with his long-term outlook and believe that he would have been taken in December’s Rule 5 draft had he not been protected.