The Real Curtis Granderson Problem
The Mets have a serious problem with Curtis Granderson. He is looking every bit of his 35 years of age hitting .226/.317/.420, and it is getting worse as the season progresses. Since the All Star Break, a time when players can rest up and get rejuvenated, Granderson has been hitting .186/.250/.304 while striking out in 21% of his plate appearances. When he does hit the ball, he is hitting an excessive number of grounders into the shift. It’s a major problem as Granderson has the lowest batting average on groundballs among active players. Keep in mind that list includes players like David Ortiz and James Loney, both of whom could lose a race to Sid Bream.
Even worse for Granderson is while he was a finalist for the Gold Glove in right field last year, he has taken a real step backwards defensively. Granderson’s defensive metrics in right field have dropped considerably with him having a -4.9 UZR and a 0 DRS this season. Fortunately, Granderson isn’t the Mets right fielder anymore . . . he’s their center fielder.
More than anything else, that is the issue with Granderson. He is the team’s best option in center field meaning he has to play everyday despite the fact he has stopped hitting and despite the fact he is no longer a good fielder.
The Mets got to this point for a number of reasons. The first is injuries. Yoenis Cespedes was supposed to be the everyday center fielder. However, with his quad injury, he will be unable to play center for the rest of the season. The Mets platoon option against lefties, Juan Lagares, is on the disabled list after needing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left thumb. The recently imported Justin Ruggiano played only three games with the Mets before needing to go on the disabled list himself. With the injuries, that leaves the following options on the roster to play center field:
With respect to De Aza, he has come crashing back to Earth after a torrid July. So far in the month of August, De Aza is hitting .088/.244/.176. As bad as things have been with Granderson, he hasn’t been that bad.
With respect to Bruce, he’s miscast as a right fielder. After two bad years in Cincinnati where he averaged a -5.2 UZR and a 0 DRS, he is at a -13.2 UZR and a -13 DRS this year. Honestly, the Mets should be looking for a way to take him out of the outfield and put him at first base rather than put him at a position he is ill equipped to play and last played eight years ago.
That leaves Kelly and Rivera neither of whom are center fielders. However, they are the Mets next best option as the team decided both should be in the majors over Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo. While you can certainly make the argument that one of them should be on the roster with the need for another third base option with Asdrubal Cabrera on the disabled list moving Jose Reyes to shortstop, it is unfathomable why both of them are on the 25 man roster. It’s unfathomable to have them both on the roster when you consider Conforto and Nimmo are better hitters than either one of them despite their struggles in the majors this year.
The rationale is the outfield is too left-handed with Granderson, De Aza, and Bruce is quite poor reasoning. Granderson is a career .224/.296/.398 hitter against lefties, and that hasn’t stopped Collins from playing Granderson against lefties. Yet somehow, Collins decides that Conforto and Nimmo, two players who have hit lefties in the minors, cannot possibly hit lefties. The end result may very well have been that Collins is right as his refusal to play either against lefties may have created a mental issue with them.
Regardless, the Mets only options right now in center field are Granderson and De Aza. While Granderson has struggled mightily this year, he is currently the Mets best option in center field. With that in mind, Granderson simply has to play every day. He has to play every day despite his slump. He has to play against lefties despite him hitting .225/.290/.392 off of them this year. He has to play in center because the Mets have no other options.
Ultimately, that is the real Granderson problem. It’s not that he’s struggling. It’s that the Mets don’t have a better option than him right now – especially since the team decided Kelly and Rivera were better than Conforto and Nimmo.