Mets include Tebow in first round of cuts

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Tim Tebow was among the Mets' first cuts of Spring Training on Friday afternoon.

Also assigned to Minor League camp were lefties Thomas Szapucki (the Mets' No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and Stephen Gonsalves, right-handers Franklyn Kilome (No. 12 prospect), Jordan Humphreys (No. 14 prospect), Matt Blackham, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Rumbelow and Francisco Ríos, and catchers Austin Bossart and David Rodríguez.

Tebow, who signed with the Mets as a Minor League free agent in September 2016, went 2-for-13 (.154) with a home run in 10 spring games. Across four big league camps, he has gone 11-for-73 (.151) with just one extra-base hit in Grapefruit League play. The 32-year-old outfielder finished last season at Triple-A Syracuse, slashing .163/.240/.255 with 10 doubles, four homers and a .495 OPS in 77 games.

"He was actually in a good place swinging," Mets manager Luis Rojas said. "I thought he walked, had a single and hit three balls really hard. I see a progression in his game. This is a guy that works really hard. We had the conversation with him going down to keep going with his plan."

Humphreys pitched in two spring games, allowing one run on two hits over two innings with two strikeouts. Kilome also made two spring appearances, giving up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts spanning two frames.