Musings
After a horrid offensive homestand, Mets fans were left with the hope coming to hitter’s parks like The Great American Ballpark and Citizen’s Bank Park would help wake up this Mets offense. Well, on the second pitch of the game from Homer Bailey to Michael Conforto, it seems like our hope was well placed:
An oppo-? is popular at any time of the year. #LGM pic.twitter.com/PKVjFw45w1
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 7, 2018
The combination of the Reds pitching and Citizen’s Bank Park really did wake up this Mets offense. Things were going so well offensively that not only did the Mets score in each of the first five innings, but Adrian Gonzalez would hit two home runs.
Jay Bruce would also homer to ensure that all the pure left-handed hitters would have a homer run on the day.
But it was more than Conforto and Gonzalez who woke up. Amed Rosario was 2-3 with an RBI and a sac fly. With the exception of Asdrubal Cabrera and Todd Frazier, the two who happened to be their most consistent hitters all year, each Met in the starting lineup had at least one hit.
Take out Jose Lobaton and all the starters had multi-hit games.
In the beginning, this seemed as if it was going to be more than enough run support for P.J. Conlon and the entire Mets pitching staff. The Irish born lefty making his MLB debut got off to a great start keeping the Reds scoreless through two and to just one run through three.
With two outs in the fourth, and the Reds gaining some momentum, with three doubles in the inning coming from Eugenio Suarez, Scooter Gennett, and Tucker Barnhart, Mickey Callaway went to Paul Sewald to nip the rally in the bud.
Sewald did just that, but he would run into trouble in the sixth yielding a home run to Suarez, and then leaving runners at the corners with one out. Robert Gsellman came on, and he allowed just a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.
Like Sewald, Gsellman was in to pitch multiple innings, and he would even hit for himself striking out. When Gennett homered to make it 7-6, you were left questioning the decision.
You were also left questioning some of the Mets base running.
In the sixth, the first inning the Mets did not score, the Reds caught Rosario in a run down off third base on a Yoenis Cespedes ground ball. He was eventually tagged out, and the run did not score.
In the eighth, Jose Reyes pinch ran for Cespedes, and he misread a ball, and did not bust it to third causing Glenn Sherlock to hold him at third.
Fortuantely for the Mets, it did not matter as Jeurys Familia came on and recorded the save giving the Mets their first win in over a week.
Game Notes: Conlon joined teammates Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz in getting a hit in his MLB debut.
Given everything that has happened since Game 5 of the 2015 World Series, you can hardly blame Matt Harvey for refusing a minor league assignment and for the Mets designating him for assignment. Ultimately, this is something which may prove beneficial to all parties involved.
For Harvey, he has a lot of work ahead of him. Unfortunately, the same goes for the Mets, who for reasons unbeknownst to anyone, stopped their roster alterations at Harvey.
There is no doubt Harvey was under-performing, but at the time of the Mets decision he was the last guy in the bullpen mopping up games like the 6-0 mess left for him by Jason Vargas. Rarely is the last guy in your bullpen the real issue with your team, and the Mets are not one of those exceptions.
One of the main issues with this time right now is the lineup. With injuries, slumps, and flat out benching more talented players, the team needs to make changes there desperately.
One of the changes that needs to be made is to get Brandon Nimmo into the lineup everyday. At the moment, Nimmo is hitting .256/.448/.442 with a 17.2% walk rate. By OPS+ and wRC+, he is the second best hitter in the Mets lineup. There is no justifiable reason to keep him as the fourth outfielder.
However, he is because the Mets are trying to make Adrian Gonzalez happen. Well, if you go by his hitting .231/.311/.372 with a -0.4 WAR, it’s not happening, and it’s not going to happen. Game-in and game-out, he’s showing why the Dodgers took on Matt Kemp to get rid of him and why the Braves were happy to pay him $21.8 million to go away.
Really, there is no reason why the Mets continue to trot him out there when they can put the hobbled Jay Bruce at first base.
Whether it is the plantar fascitiis or something else, Bruce has struggled this year and playing the outfield is doing him no favors. Really, he and the team is best served by moving Bruce to first and allowing more athletic players like Nimmo and Juan Lagares play out there.
Again, the only thing standing in the way of the Mets optimizing both their defensive alignment and their lineup is a 35 year old with a bad back who already has a -0.4 WAR.
Speaking of players in their mid 30s, well past their prime, and standing in the way of more talented players, the Mets need to do something about Jose Reyes.
So far this season, Reyes is hitting .139/.184/.222. To put that in perspective, the recently designated for assignment Matt Harvey was batting .286/.286/.286. Put another way, Reyes is hitting like a pitcher . . . or worse.
That’s except when he’s coming off the bench. When he’s pinch hitting, he’s not hitting at all going 0-9 with three strike outs. When he substitutes into games, he’s 0-4.
Really, what’s the point of having a bench player who can’t hit when he comes off the bench?
Remember this was the same Reyes who posted a -0.6 WAR last year and his -26 DRS was the worst among Major League infielders. There is really not hope there’s any upside.
Looking at Las Vegas, Gavin Cecchini is hitting .313/.359/.500 while mostly playing the middle infield with a game at short.
After a slow start, Luis Guillorme is in the midst of an eight game hitting streak that has seen him go 13-28 with three doubles and seven RBI. After starting the year hitting .211/.338/.281, he’s not hitting .294/.394/.376.
In addition to Cecchini or Guillorme, the Mets could opt to go with Phillip Evans, who won a bench job out of Spring Training or Ty Kelly, who is once again dominating in Las Vegas hitting .300/.364/.600 with four doubles, four triples, six homers, and 21 RBI.
Even if you didn’t like the group as a collective, you’d be hard pressed to present an argument where they would not be able to get at least one hit while coming off of the bench.
Now, are Gonzalez and Reyes the only two problems? Far from it. The catching situation is still a mess, the bullpen is regressing, and every starter not named Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard has been completely unreliable.
That said, Gonzalez and Reyes are blocking more talented players who promise to be more productive than what we have seen from both players not just this year, but stretching back to last year. If the Mets are truly interested in becoming a better team, these two need to join Harvey in looking for another team.
In September 2015, Scott Boras tried to intervene and limit Matt Harvey‘s innings in what could be perceived as an attempt to save the pitcher not just from the Mets, but also from himself. There would be a modified schedule and some skipped starts, but Harvey eventually took the shackles off because he wanted the ball.
Harvey always wanted the ball.
He wanted the ball in the NL East clincher against the Reds. Instead of the five innings he was supposed to pitch, he pitched into the seventh because, well, he wanted to get ready for the postseason, and the Mets were lucky he did.
Harvey won a pivotal Game 3 of the NLDS. With that series going five games, it was Harvey who got the ball in Game 1 of the NLCS. In front of a raucous Citi Field crowd, Harvey set the tone for that series. As he stepped off the mound with two outs in the eighth, he wasn’t tipping his cap. No, he was pumped up like all of Citi Field was because he knew what we all knew . . . this team was going to the World Series.
When telling the story of Matt Harvey, we will forever go back to Game 5. With the Mets team trying to rally back from a 3-1 series deficit, Harvey wanted the ball for the ninth. Terry Collins initially wanted Jeurys Familia, but he relented, and he gave Harvey the ball.
You’d be hard pressed to find a time in Citi Field history louder than when Harvey took the mound in that ninth. A blown lead and Game 5 loss later, you’d never find Citi Field more despondent.
Now, looking back, that Game 5 was the microcosm of Harvey’s Mets career.
He came in, and he gave us all hope the impossible could happen. He brought us all along for the ride. There was no one we wanted out there more than Harvey. And yet at the very end, despite all the hope and brilliance he brought, we were all left in disbelief, and yes, some in tears, over the how and why Harvey was still out there.
Mainly, Harvey was there because despite no matter what anyone said, Harvey wanted to be there, and he was not going to let anyone stop him.
And you know what? Back in 2013, no one could stop him.
In 26 starts, Harvey was 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA, 0.931 WHIP, and a 9.6 K/9. His 2.01 FIP that year would not only lead the Majors, but it would be one of the 10 best over the past 100 years. His WHIP still remains a single season Mets record. It may have seemed premature to put him in the conversation with Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden, but really, it made sense. Harvey was just that good.
He was the reason to watch a terrible Mets team, and on May 7th, he may have pitched the game of his life. If not for an Alex Rios infield single Ruben Tejada could not turn into an out, Harvey likely pitches a perfect game. Instead, he had to settle for a no decision despite allowing just one hit and 12 strikeouts in nine innings. Just file that away next time someone points out his win-loss record.
That game was the signature Harvey moment. He took the mound with a bloody nose. He was reaching near triple digits with this fastball. He was becoming a superstar. He was making Citi Field his playground.
When we look through the history of Citi Field one day, it will be Harvey who emerged as it’s first superstar. He was the one who brought the crowds. He started the first All Star Game at Citi Field. Arguably, he pitched the two best games ever pitched by a Met at that ballpark.
It would be that 2013 season Harvey broke. He tore his UCL, and he needed Tommy John surgery. Mets fans everywhere who were once so hopeful were crushed. There were many low moments in Mets history since the team moved to Citi Field, but that one is among the lowest.
But when he came back in 2015, hope returned. He may not have been 2013 great, but he was great. For all the criticism over his innings limits, he would throw more innings than any pitcher in baseball history in their first season back from Tommy John.
Looking back at that 2015 season, Harvey gave the Mets and their fans everything he had. He pitched great in the regular season, and he was even better in the postseason. Just like in 2013, he was trying to will the Mets back to prominence. He was taking an organization on his back and trying to win a World Series.
It broke him in 2013, and apparently, it broke him again in 2015.
Really, when he stepped off that mound in Game 5 of the World Series, Harvey was done as we knew him. In 2016, he’d be diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome requiring season ending surgery. Last year, Harvey was rushed back to the rotation before he was physically ready, and he suffered a stress reaction. This year, he was healthy, but lost.
Looking back, no one will ever know if Harvey listened to Boras if he’d still be The Dark Knight instead of a guy now looking for a job.
The real shame is how Harvey went out. The same guy who heard the loudest ovations from the fans, the same one who heard Mets fans serenade Stephen Strasburg with “Harvey’s Better!” chants, was booed off the mound the last time he ever pitched on what had once been his mound.
There are some who will find behavioral excuses why Harvey faulted, and maybe they do exist. However, you’d be hard pressed to find a pitcher who was at the top of his game in November only to completely lose it by the next April. Most pitchers get a transition period to figure things out. Harvey’s cruel fate was he had more injuries followed by his getting about a month and a half before being given an ultimatum.
In what once seemed impossible, Harvey was designated for assignment. Sure, Mets fans always expected him to leave one day, but we all thought it would be Harvey who spurned the cheap Wilpon family, not the Wilpons kicking him out the door despite the team still owing him around $4 million.
Much has been made of the Mets crop of starting pitchers, the group who brought them to the 2015 World Series. Make no mistake, Harvey was the best out of the group. Better than Jacob deGrom. Better than Noah Syndergaard.
Really, he was better than anyone not named Seaver or Gooden, and if things had broken right, Harvey could have been a Hall of Famer. He was that good when he was healthy, but he wasn’t healthy making him this generation’s version of Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen, or Jon Matlack.
Harvey being designated for assignment wasn’t a shock. With every struggle on the mound, and yes, some personal issues that emerged, he was getting closer and closer to this point. It doesn’t mean this doesn’t hurt the Mets fan, the ones who got to experience in the joy of seeing the real Harvey pitch, any less.
There will come a day down the line where all will be forgiven, and we can all just look back and appreciate all Harvey did for the Mets. We can take a step back and marvel how he potentially sacrificed his entire career to win that one World Series. Really, he has never been thanked or appreciated enough for that.
Now, he is looking for a new team and a new fan base. Hopefully, Harvey rediscovers some of that magic he once had, and hopefully, he gets those cheers again. He’s certainly earned them.
And when he does return to Citi Field, whether it be this year or the next, let’s hope he gets that true standing ovation he deserved, the one he might’ve received on Thursday had we all known it was going to be his last game in a Mets uniform.
No matter what happens, Mets fans everywhere should wish him the best of luck. There was a time we showered him with all the love we had, and he returned the favor by giving us everything he had. Everything. Here’s hoping he gets everything he is looking for in his next stop.
I know no matter what he does, I’m rooting of him. More than that I appreciate Harvey for all he did as a Met. Really, best of luck to you, Matt Harvey.
Through the first four innings, Jacob deGrom was pitching like the ace we know he is. After a tough loss, and with first place in the balance, he was as great as he has ever been. Through the first four innings, deGrom had walked none, allowed just two hits, and he struck out six.
He then went into the tunnel into the clubhouse. He was done for the day with a hyper-extended elbow. Based upon the ensuing MRI, he may be gone longer than that. If deGrom is gone, the Mets will have lost much more than a 7-0 game.
Look, we can get into Tom Glavine–Greg Maddux–John Smoltz 1999 strike zone Sean Newcomb was getting from Home Plate Umpire Lance Barrett. The Mets were clearly irritated by it, and we even saw Todd Frazier say something about umpiring in general after the game.
We can delve into Paul Sewald and Robert Gsellman struggled out of the bullpen really for the first time all season long.
We can even wonder how in the word Wilmer Flores forgot to do the one thing in baseball he is actually good at doing – hitting left-handed pitching.
Really, right now, none of this matters. As it stood, this pitching staff needed at least one more starter, and that was assuming Jason Vargas will get better and Zack Wheeler won’t turn back into the guy who forced the Mets to put him in Triple-A to start the season.
Sure, the Mets are just a half game back, and it is possible Matt Harvey, Seth Lugo, and/or Corey Oswalt step up here. We saw something like that happen in 2016 when Lugo and Gsellman performed a miracle over the last month of the season.
Maybe it’s being a little overly dramatic, but after what we saw with Noah Syndergaard‘s injury last year, and how the energy from the team and the ballpark flat-line after deGrom left the game, it’s very possible the Mets need a miracle.
I guess it’s times like these we all channel our inner Tug McGraw and say, “Ya Gotta Believe”
Game Notes: AJ Ramos now has a five appearance stretch without issuing a walk. There was a delay in the game because Yoenis Cespedes‘ necklace broke, and they had to get the diamonds off the diamond.
On April 11th, the New York Mets were soaring at 10-1, and they lost their second catcher when Kevin Plawecki was hit on the hand by a Tayron Guerrero pitch.
Up until that point, the Mets catching situation was actually one of the bright spots to what was a great start to the season. The combination of Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud combined to hit .229/.341/.343 with six runs, a double, a homer, and four RBI. While they were catching, the Mets pitching staff had a 2.47 ERA, 3.2 BB/9, and a 9.9 K/9.
Since d’Arnaud opted to have Tommy John surgery and Plawecki’s hand has taken longer to heal than expected, things have gone quite differently for this Mets team with the new catching tandem of Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido.
Whereas the Plawecki/d’Arnaud tandem was at least passable offensively, Lobaton/Nido have not. Combined, Lobaton and Nido have hit .164/.269/.218 with a double, triple, and four RBI.
While we should be cautioned not to rely upon things like catcher ERA or results in small sample sizes, the Mets pitching staff has had a 5.30 ERA. Surprisingly, the walks have come slightly down to a 3.0 BB/9 while the strikeouts have remained at a 9.9 K/9.
More troubling, the Mets who got off to a 10-1 start have gone 7-9 with their new catching duo.
There are many reasons for the difference in records including a natural regression from a team that started the season 10-1. Really, no one believed the Mets were going to go 147-15 for the full season.
And the catching situation has nothing to do with Amed Rosario regressing, Michael Conforto not hitting for power, or Adrian Gonzalez not contributing anywhere near what the Mets expected. Still, these catchers are part of a black hole the Mets have in the bottom of their lineup.
The Mets have also had two bad bullpen meltdowns with Lobaton behind the plate. The first one was the Nationals six run 8th inning. It was a complete meltdown, and no one quite knew how to stop it from happening. Not Mickey Callaway. Not Dave Eiland. Not Lobaton.
The second one, much smaller in scale was the Mets blowing a 3-0 lead to the Braves. Lobaton was on for the two run eighth, and Nido was there for the two run ninth.
Maybe these meltdowns were coincidences. It’s possible Matt Harvey would have regressed the way he has anyway. We’ve seen enough of Steven Matz to know we don’t know what he’s going to provide. AJ Ramos and Jerry Blevins always had difficulty with walks. The list goes on and on.
Whatever the case, the one thing that is apparent, even if this stretch is not completely the fault of either Lobaton or Nido, the Mets miss their catchers. Unfortunately, d’Arnaud is gone for the season, and he may never suit up for the Mets again. As for Plawecki, he’s still a few weeks away. Seeing how the Mets are performing in his absence, he cannot get back here soon enough.
During the offseason, many Mets fans, myself included, had implored the Mets to go out on the free agent market and address the real needs this team had. Instead, the Mets went out, looked for bargains, and they signed more Major League free agents than they had during Sandy Alderson’s tenure as the Mets general mananger.
On the surface, it must be working out because the Mets are 17-9 and in first place. With the salt and pepper shaker bit, the Mets seem to have built a strong clubhouse and a strong team who is in good position to make the postseason.
However, if you dig a little deeper, you will see of all the players the Mets signed this past offseason, Todd Frazier is really the only one producing. While we are dealing with small sample sizes, here is the respective WAR for each of the Mets free agent signings:
Adrian Gonzalez-0.3 WAR
Jay Bruce 0.0 WAR
Jose Reyes -0.2 WAR
Jason Vargas -0.3 WAR
Anthony Swarzak 0.0 WAR
Combined, these free agent signings have accumulated a -0.8 WAR. Now, there are bound to be some caveats to this, and one of those caveats is injuries.
Vargas and Swarzak have both spent time on the disabled list. With Swarzak, his being on the disabled list has prevented him from contributing. With Vargas, his injury limited him to one start, and in that one start where he allowed nine runs on nine hits in 3.2 innnings, he was arguably rusty. At least you hope Vargas was rusty.
With respect to Bruce, he has been hampered by plantar fascitiis. As a result, the Mets have not seen the player who got off to a terrific start last year. Instead, this looks more like the Bruce of 2014 – 2016 who averaged a 0.1 WAR.
Bruce’s injury and Gonzalez’s ineffectiveness have had it’s impact on the Mets which go far beyond their recent 7-8 streak. No, their presence on the team has limited Brandon Nimmo‘s playing time. Nimmo has started the season hitting .313/.488/.563 with a double, two triples, a homer, three RBI, and a stolen base. If this were a true meritocracy, Nimmo would be leading off and playing everyday.
Instead, because he made the mistake of being born in the 1990s instead of the 1980s, he’s on the bench. As a result, the Mets are not fielding their best team each and every day.
Speaking of which, it is still baffling how Reyes is still on this roster. Last year, he had a -0.6 WAR, 94 wRC+, and an MLB worst -26 DRS among infielders. Basically put, he couldn’t hit and couldn’t field.
As for the argument he’s a mentor for Amed Rosario, then he’s failing at that job too. Rosario has an unfathomably low 4.3% walk rate, a high 25.3% strikeout rate, and a -2 DRS. Overall, he’s hitting just .238/.282/.325 with five doubles, a triple, no homers, eight RBI, no stolen bases, and two caught stealings. The end result of that is Rosario having a -0.2 WAR.
Looking at Rosario’s numbers, he’s nowhere close to living up to his potential. Rosario is a truly gifted player, and the Mets have a lot invested in him and his development. So far, whatever Reyes is telling him, just isn’t working. And if Reyes is playing poorly and isn’t helping Rosario along, you need to again question why Reyes is here.
The good news is we should reasonably expect Bruce and Vargas to improve. Sooner or later, Swarzak will return and be a real shot in the arm for the bullpen. To that extent, the Mets could be a significantly better version of the 17-9 team they are right now. Of course, part of being a better team is putting their younger players like Nimmo and Rosario in a position to succeed. To that end, the Mets may need to re-look at the players they signed this offseason and cut bait where appropriate.
Editor’s Note: This was partially adapted from the 3 Up, 3 Down piece published on MMO
Back in 1948, Gerald Hern of The Boston Post penned a poem, which was shortened, and the words have forever lived on in baseball lore: “Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain.”
The reason for the poem was not so much a reflection on the Boston Braves staff as a whole, but more of a reflection of the greatness that was Johnny Sain and Warren Spahn. Both pitchers were aces, and any manager in their right mind would want them pitching more frequently than the rest of their rotation. And that’s basically what happened with Sain making 39 starts and three relief appearances and Spahn making 35 starts and one relief appearance.
The Braves followed that plan to win the 1948 National League pennant.
Now, in 2018, you have to wonder if the Mets should follow that plan with their own version of Spahn and Sain with Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard.
With deGrom and Syndergaard, the Mets have two aces and Cy Young contenders atop their rotation. After that, at best, you have question marks.
Matt Harvey has been removed from the rotation, and so far, he can’t figure things out in the bullpen. Steven Matz has been struggling just to get into the fifth inning. Zack Wheeler had a Spring Training so poor he began the year in the minors, and after two strong starts for the Mets this year, he reminded you of that guy again in his last start. Finally, Jason Vargas, the guy who was supposed to be an innings eater, got lit up by the worst hitting team in baseball in the ultimate pitchers park.
Seeing what has happened to the once vaunted Mets rotation, they are now in Spahn and Sain territory. The question is what should the quip be. Here are some ideas.
- Thor and Jake and Pray for an Earthquake
- Jake and Thor and Can’t Watch Anymore
- Jake and Thor and the Revolving Door
- Thor and Jake and Oh for God’s Sake
- Thor and Jake And Who is on the Take?
- Jake and Syndergaard Followed By Batters Going Yard
- Thor and deGrom And The Rest Bomb
Personally, I like the first one as it encapsulates both an event which would cause a game cancellation, and it also conveys the disaster the third, fourth, fifth, and now sixth starters have been to start the season.
With the Mets playing on the West Coast, and on a Friday night to boot, it is understandable if you missed the game last night. If you did, you missed the special message Keith Hernandez had for Mets fans:
Actually, Keith was just showing us how he cut his finger shaving. For those interested, Keith uses a single blade when he shaves.
Right now, that moment goes down in the annuls of famous Mets moments in San Diego including the David Wright barehanded catch, the Carlos Beltran/Mike Cameron headfirst collision, and the Bartolo Colon home run.
Overall, it’s silly moments like this, or when a Keith, who thought he was off camera, gave his assessment of Tanner Roark‘s performance, that makes this booth the best in baseball. They’re honest, and you never know when they’re going to do something so innocently bizarre that you will never forget the moment.
Looking at the Mets lineup right now, they are just giving away four free outs, and it has been an issue for a team that has now lost three straight series after their torrid start. The question is how or if the Mets could improve theses respective areas. For the most part is probably not.
The pitcher’s spot is going to be the pitcher’s spot. Given his defense and how much the Mets have invested in him, the team is going to let Amed Rosario figure it out. Unless you can swing a trade, the Mets are stuck with Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido in near future.
That leaves Adrian Gonzalez, who is hitting .203/.300/.322 and is currently mired in a 1-16 slump. He is holding the team back offensively at a time they need him to hit, and at a -1 DRS, he’s no longer a Gold Glover. With his lack of production and the fact the Mets actually have internal options, it is time to cut bait and choose Option B, C, or D. Here are what those options are:
Option No. 1 – Bruce
Jay Bruce playing first base is seemingly the most obvious option, albeit one the Mets have seemed to be reluctant to pursue. If they would finally pursue this route, it would take his -2 DRS out of right field, and it would create an avenue for Brandon Nimmo and his .500 OBP into the everyday lineup.
The downside of this is Bruce is not as strong a first baseman as Gonzalez. It creates more opportunity for teams, who have already abused the Mets with safety squeezes, to have more bunt plays against the Mets. Some of the other things like digging balls out of the dirt may become throwing errors. Lastly, when he made the move to first last year, he hit just .189/.302/.378. That could be the result of small sample sizes, or it could be the result of him not being comfortable. Neither possibility should be discounted.
Option No. 2 – Flores
Even at first base, Wilmer Flores is not going to be a good enough defender to play everyday. However, at this point in their respective careers, Flores is a better hitter than Gonzalez, and the defensive gap is not as great.
Since 2014, we have seen Flores’ batting average and slugging have improved as has his ability to hit right-handed pitching. After a slow start this year when he did not receive regular playing time, over his last 13 games, Flores is hitting .281/.343/.531 with two doubles, two homers, and five RBI. In an ironic twist, Flores is actually hitting right-handed pitching well while struggling against left-handed pitching.
Seeing his production, Flores has merited more playing time, and of all the options, he may be the best possible stopgap option. At a minimum putting him at first only serves to displace an under-performing Gonzalez while allowing the Mets to keep Bruce in his comfort zone.
Option No. 3 – Smith
Who knows what would have happened this season if Dominic Smith showed up on time for the first Spring Training game. With him being in the best shape of his life and his coming off his best ever minor league season, he may have very well have won the first base job in Spring Training; his injury not withstanding.
Now, Smith is off to a slow start in Triple-A hitting .234/.372/.406, and he’s mired in a 4-26 slump. For comparison’s sake, he hit .337/.382/.484 in April last year.
What we don’t know is whether this was the result of him dealing with an injury early in the season, the disappointment of starting the season in the minors, or something all together different.
Calling him up now and having him work with this coaching staff could rejuvenate him, and he could take off. It’s also possible he crumbles under the pressure completely. Whatever the case, you’re not getting anything from Gonzalez now, so would it really matter if you get nothing from Smith. After all with Peter Alonso nipping at his heels, you need to find out about Smith eventually.
Option No. 4 – Cabrera
So far this season, Asdrubal Cabrera has been the team’s MVP, but that is only because of his bat. Before his right hamstring started “barking,” he already had limited range at second base, and he had a -3 DRS. All things considered, you may want to keep him in the lineup and on the team, but keeping him at second is not helping the team.
If he was willing, and after what we saw last year he might not be, a move to first may be beneficial for him. No, Cabrera does not have experience at first base, but he is a smart player, and with some work on the side, he may quickly become adept at the position. Most likely, he could pan out better than both Bruce and Flores would.
If you moved him to first, you could call-up Gavin Cecchini to play second. Unlike Smith, he has certainly earned the opportunity. Right now, Cecchini is in the midst of a six game hitting streak, and he is hitting .311/.373/.459 with nine doubles and five RBI. Notably, for a player who has struggled defensively in the past, he has not made an error.
Even if you don’t want to give Cecchini a starting spot, at least not initially, he could come up and serve in a utility role. Remember, if you release Gonzalez, someone is going to have to get called-up from the minors to take a roster spot. You could argue that spot could go to Phillip Evans, or to Ty Kelly, who has been mashing the ball this year.
Option No. 5 – Conforto
As previously noted, there is a logjam in the outfield preventing the team from getting Nimmo into the lineup. While the team won’t move Bruce, maybe they move Michael Conforto there, who many, Keith Hernandez included, believe would be a good first baseman.
While different players under somewhat different circumstances, the Dodgers did quite well last year replacing Gonzalez with Cody Bellinger.
The biggest issue with making that decision is Conforto is the only everyday outfielder with a positive DRS. Taking him out of the outfield will make the defense at both first and the outfield worse. The question there is if Nimmo’s bat leading off everyday with Juan Lagares being better off utilized as a defensive replacement would offset those issues.
Treading Water
Now, none of these options may not entice you. That is typically the predicament you are in April when you are trying to replace an under-performing veteran and your top prospect in Triple-A is struggling. As a result, you could justifiably keep Gonzalez and just spell him more frequently with Flores.
Buying this time could allow the Mets to wait for Smith to hit a hot streak thereby forcing the team to call him up. It gives more time to T.J. Rivera, who was the first baseman for Puerto Rico in the most recent WBC, to heal. It could give more time for Alonso to continue his development allowing the team to call him up similar to how they did with Michael Conforto. It would also give the team more time to possibly swing a deal for a first baseman depending on who would be available.
In a complete and utter pipe dream, maybe you wait for David Wright to insert himself into the conversation. The question really is whether that is more unrealistic than their current belief that Gonzalez can still do the job. Whatever crazy ideas there are, the Mets need to be right in their decision because the fate of some of their prospects and the 2018 season hinge on this extremely important decision.