When the offseason began, the Mets clearly needed to bring in some new relievers, and eventually, they did. One of their earliest moves in the slow-paced bullpen buildup was the signing of 34-year-old right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin to a one-year, $1 million major league deal.
Since that signing, however, the Mets might have brought in enough other relievers to make it less of a sure thing that Tonkin would make the Opening Day roster. And like several of the pitchers with whom he’s competing for a spot, Tonkin is on the 40-man roster and out of options, meaning he’d have to clear waivers if the Mets were to choose to send him to Triple-A Syracuse to start the year.