The door is being left open for both of these possibilities, according to Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News, who quotes New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson on the chances the teams top prospects have of making the Opening Day roster.
Alderson goes on to say that the odds are not equal, with Travis d'Arnaud having a better chance to break camp with the team than Zack Wheeler, and also says that d'Arnaud is not being handed the job, but will have to win it this spring.
It wouldn't shock me to see d'Arnaud make the Mets roster out of spring training, simply because it's always tempting to get caught up in new talent in the spring, the Mets have shown to be especially susceptible to this (the Jenrry Mejia fiasco from 2010), and d'Arnaud is flat out a better baseball player than John Buck.
But d'Arnaud should probably head to Triple-A. Thanks to injuries, he played just 67 games there last season. But he'll be 24 this spring and has over 2,000 minor league plate appearances. If he jumps straight to the majors, it won't kill him. And he is the Mets best option.
It would shock me, however, to see Wheeler make the Mets roster this spring. Wheeler has just six Triple-A starts to his credit and could use at least a half-season there to work on his off-speed pitches, most specifically his change-up. Additionally, the Mets have to be considering his service clock and would like to hold him off long enough to get an extra season of team control.
There's no doubt that he is among the Mets five best starting pitchers, but with the Mets desire to give Mejia one more chance to start, and Jeremy Hefner in the fold to keep the fifth spot warm for Wheeler if Mejia can't handle the task, there's little need to rush Wheeler.
