David Wright

Time to Seriously Consider Gourriel

Yesterday, the Mets announced David Wright had a successful cervical discectomy and fusion surgery.  The Mets have no idea about whether Wright can return this September or if his season is over. With that in mind, three Mets are going to have to address their third base position. 

The initial solution has been Wilmer Flores.  He has been terrific thus far hitting .320/.375/.460. The one caution with these stats is Flores has a .366 BABIP during this 16 game stretch, and he has a career .271 BABIP. He’s due for a regression. The bigger issue is he was hit with a pitch on his left hand forcing him from Thursday’s game. Fortunately, the x-rays were negative. Unfortunately, Flores was unable to swing a bat, and he’s gone for the next few games. Maybe more. 

If he is gone, the Mets have three options: (1) play musical chairs across the infield with Neil Walker and Dilson Herrera; (2) swing a trade; or (3) sign Cuban free agent third baseman Yulieski Gourriel

Back in Cuba, the 32 year old Gourriel is a former teammate of Yoenis Cespedes, and the two were close friends. It should come as no surprise that Cespedes has nothing but glowing things to say about Gourriel. As reported by Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, Cespedes said, “At the time I left Cuba [in 2011] that was the best ballplayer player in Cuba. He’s a five tool player.”  

Scouts agree. Baseball America ranked Gourriel as the top Cuban prospect. He’s seen as a plus defender at third with a good arm.  He has enough range to handle second, but he is really better suited to third. At the plate, he has a patient approach at the plate. He’s capable of hitting for both power and average. In sum, he’s a major league talent who calls have a big impact in the majors. 

Over Gourriel’s nine year career in the Cuban and Japenese Leagues, he has hit .335/.417/.580. To put it in perspective, Cespedes hit .319/.404/.585 in eight years in the Cuban Leagues. If the numbers translate for Gourriel as they did for Cespedes, whoever signs him is getting a terrific player. 

That team should be the Mets as they need a third baseman for the rest of the year. They need insurance for Wright’s back going forward. With the prospect of Cespedes opting out, they may need an extra carrot to entice Cespedes to once again re-sign with the Mets so he can play with his friend. 

The Mets need to sign Gourriel. 

Editor’s Note: this article first appeared on metsmerizedonline.com

Can Neil Walker’s Bat Play at Third

The minute there was the hint of trouble with David Wright, the popular opinion was to move Neil Walker over to third base.  The concept behind the move was two-fold: (1) Walker should be able to move over to a position he played 15 games in his career; and (2) it would permit the Mets to call-up Dilson Herrera to play second base.  Herrera is the Mets second baseman of the future, and it appears that the future is now.  Lost in this is an analysis of how Walker’s bat would actually play at third base.

It’s easy to overlook that fact when the Mets have been trotting out Eric Campbell, Matt Reynolds, and Ty Kelly at third base.  Yes, anything would be an improvement over them.  However, the idea is not to simply get better; the idea is to put a team on the field that is capable of winning the World Series.

This year Walker has been terrific at the plate hitting .275/.346/.498 with 14 home runs and 28 RBI.  He is definitively one of the best second baseman in the league and should garner serious consideration for the All Star Game.  He is nearly in the top 10 in each and every statistical category, and he has the most home runs among second basemen.  Here is how Walker would rank among National League third basemen this year:

  1. Hits – 7th
  2. Homers – 3rd
  3. RBI – 7th
  4. Average – 5th
  5. OBP – 8th
  6. Slugging – 5th

These are not awe-inspiring rankings.  However, these stats show that Walker’s bat could very well play at third base this year.

Overall, you would prefer to have Walker play second base this year because he is more comfortable at the position, and he has a plus bat for the position.  However, beggers can’t be choosers, and the Mets are in a position where they are begging for some offense from first and third base.  If Dilson Herrera can handle being an everyday player in the majors now, it would make sense to move Walker to third as he can handle it offensively.

The real question is going to be whether he can handle it defensively.  With Wilmer Flores getting hit on the hand yesterday, we may find out soon.

Go Get David Wright His Ring

As a Knicks fan, I remember in 1999 when Patrick Ewing went down with a partially torn Achillies tendon against the hated Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.  The team’s leader was sidelined.  He was robbed of what proved to be his last chance to win a championship.  He gathered his teammates together, and he delivered a message:

I told them before practice started that I believe in them, and for them to go out there and get me my ring.  They’re ready.  They’re ready to get it for me.

(New York Times)

As it turns out, the Knicks would rally to beat the Pacers, but they would falter against the much deeper and talented San Antonio Spurs.

Ewing never did get his ring.  When the Knicks had won the Draft Lottery in 1985, the question was never whether Ewing would win a ring, it was how many rings he would win.  Ewing always did his part.  He won the Rookie of the Year Award.  He was an 11 time All Star.  He was the Knicks all-time leading scorer.  He was named to the 1992 Dream Team that won gold in Barcelona.  He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.  To many, he is the greatest Knick to ever wear the uniform.  Ewing did everything but win a ring.  In many ways, he has become a tragic figure amongst Knicks fans.

That’s the fate befalling David Wright.  When he was called-up in 2004, Mets fans were able to imagine him winning multiple World Series.  That notion was fortified by the 2006 season.  Then disaster struck in 2007 and 2008.  The Mets were then terrible for nearly a decade.  Through all of it Wright stayed with the Mets, and he played extremely well.  He has had a borderline Hall of Fame career.  With his spinal stenosis, the only left for Wright to reasonably accomplish is to win a World Series ring.  He came painstakingly close last year.  He’s on a team that is built to do it this year.

However, Wright is no longer going to be a part of that team.  Wright now needs surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck.  While Wright and the Mets are not discounting his return to the team this year, there are others who suggest Wright will not be able to play again until the 2017 season.  At that point, Wright will be a 34 year old who has spinal stenosis and a cervical fusion.  While we have learned never to count Wright out, we cannot assuredly believe that he will be able to every play again.  Furthermore, even if he will be able to play again, we don’t know what the Mets future holds.

Neil Walker will be a free agent.  Yoenis Cespedes can opt out of his deal, and given his production, he will most likely opt out of his deal.  Lucas Duda is dealing with a back issue for the second year in a row.  Curtis Granderson will be another year older.  The 2016 free agent class will be less than lackluster.  There is no telling what this Mets team will look like next year regardless of whether or not Wright is on the team.  With that said, this year could be Wright’s best year to win a ring.  It could also be his last.

Wright has been important to this franchise and this current Mets team.  Injuries have robbed Wright of so much during his career.  He’s done everything he can do to help the Mets franchise add a third World Series title.  It’s time for his teammates to pick up where he’s left off and go win it.  It’s time for them to go out there and get him the ring the Knicks never could get Patrick Ewing.

 

Call-Up Dilson Herrera

After the game, Terry Collins revealed Juan Lagares was scratched from the lineup because he couldn’t close his left hand. At a minimum, it seems like a DL stint is inevitable.

The natural inclination would be for the Mets to call-up Brandon Nimmo. He’s certainly earned the promotion hitting .330/.411/.529 with five homers and 32 RBI. The 23 year old 2011 first round pick appears to be ready for a promotion to the majors.  He could take the place of Michael Conforto  in the lineup while Conforto waits for his wrist to react to the cortisone shot.

With that said, Conforto is expected back this weekend. Once he returns, it is likely Terry Collins will play him everyday. That will leave Nimmo on the bench which would be detrimental to his development. Nimmo needs to get regular at bats, and that does not appear likely at the major league level.

However, Lagares and Conforto aren’t the only Mets that are ailing. Neil Walker had to pull himself from a game on Saturday. He hasn’t been able to play since. Tomorrow, he is going to see a back specialist to be evaluated. Given the Mets luck lately with Lucas Duda and David Wright, no one should be holding their breath.

With that in mind, the Mets should call-up Dilson Herrera.

Herrera is the second baseman of the future, and depending on Walker’s back, the future may be now. Herrera is hitting .298/.344/.517 with ten homers and 36 RBI. Like Nimmo, Herrera has earned the call-up. Unlike Nimmo, Herrera has some major league experience. Moreover, Herrera doesn’t have an obvious impediment to his playing time.

In Walker’s absence, Collins has had to pick between Matt Reynolds and Kelly Johnson. Both have played well recently, but there shouldn’t be expectations for that to continue. Reynolds is the same player who has hit .282/.335/.420 in the Pacific Coast League, which is about as favorable a hitter’s league there is.  Even with his hot streak, Johnson is hitting .226/.288/.308 this year. Herrera should be an upgrade over these players.

Accordingly, Herrera should be called-up to play second until such time as Walker is ready to return. In the interim, Collins can go with either Johnson in left, like he did Wednesday, or Alejandro De Aza, who Collins wants to get more at bats. Herrera can and should effectively man second base until Walker is ready. When that happens, the Mets will do what they always do in these situations:

They will call up Eric Campbell.

However, before that happens the Mets need to call-up Herrera. He’s the best option at second base behind Walker. Additionally, in Wright’s absence, the Mets can judge whether it is time to let Herrera play second while moving Walker to third. This is an option the Mets have internally discussed. They now have a window to see if it is feasible.

It’s time to call-up Dilson Herrera.

Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net

The Mets Need More from Asdrubal Cabrera

Since David Wright went on the Disabled List, Terry Collins has mostly turned to Asdrubal Cabrera to hit in the second spot in the lineup.  Last night, it worked with Cabrera going 2-5 with 2 runs.  He helped spark a Mets offense that scored 11 runs.  However, far too often that hasn’t been the case.  In his 27 games hitting in the second spot in the order, Cabrera has hit .222/.282/.361.

Those numbers are not what the Mets signed up for when they added Cabrera as a free agent in the offseason.  Coming into this season, Cabrera was a .267/.329/.412 hitter who averaged 11 homers and 57 RBI a year.  In the second half of the 2015 season, he hit an astonishing .328/.372/.544 with 10 homers and 36 RBI.  The Mets saw this first-hand during a three game set in Tampa last August.  During that three game set, Cabrera went 4-11 with a walk, a run, a double, and a stolen base.  He did this against Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Bartolo Colon.  Clearly, the Mets were wowed by Cabrera, and they pounced on him in the offseason.

Early in the season, when the Mets were winning, Cabrera was great.  The Mets went 15-7 in April, and Cabrera hit .300/.364/.400.  Since April, both Cabrera and the Mets have faltered.  The Mets have gone 20-22 and Cabrera has hit .247/.310/.390.  It’s   Yes, there have been many issues that have afflicted the Mets including the aforementioned Wright injury.  However, as we see, one of those issues has been Cabrera’s struggles at the plate.

In fact, Cabrera has hit .306/.367/.440 in Mets wins.  Last night, Cabrera hit, and he helped ignite the Mets offense.  The Mets need more of that Cabrera this year.

David Wright & The Jersey My Son May Never Wear

At the end of the 2014 season, Modells had a sale to clear out some of their baseball inventory.  As luck would have it, there was a children’s David Wright jersey on sale for $15.  As I left Modells that way, Wright jersey in hand, I never imagined my son may not have an opportunity to wear the jersey.

At the conclusion of the 2012 season, with free agency on the horizon, Wright had signed a seven year deal that effectively was going to make him a Met for life.  When his contract expired, Wright was going to be the all-time leader in nearly every offensive category there was.  At this time, Wright was really transitioning from the young superstar Cliff Floyd took under his wing to the mentor of a new crop of Mets players he was going to lead to the World Series.  It was his destiny much in the way that it was the destiny for Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry in the 80’s.  As we saw with Doc and Darryl, life gets in the way.  The things outside baseball can take everything from you.

For Doc and Darryl, it was substance abuse.  Both of them have missed out on the Hall of Fame, and God knows what else, because of these issues.  It may not have robbed them of their careers, but it did rob them of their greatness.  It robbed them of their seemingly assured path to Cooperstown.

For Wright, his body is failing him.  While Wright has lost some time and some great seasons to injuries, no one expected the spinal stenosis.  The spinal stenosis has robbed him of his ability to truly be an everyday player.  It may have robbed him of his chance to put up the numbers he needed to get inducted into the Hall of Fame.  However, through almost sheer grit and determination, Wright wasn’t going to let the spinal stenosis rob him of his chance to win the World Series.  Seeing Wright play this year was to be all the most impressed and amazed with him.  No, he wasn’t the Wright of old.  No one expected that.  Instead, he was an effective major league player.  He was hitting .226/.350/.438 with a 115 OPS+.  He had eight doubles and seven home runs.  More impressively, he homered in each of his last three games.

There was almost a certain beauty to what Wright was doing.  He was taking everything he had, and he was willing himself to be great again.  He was able to combine his experience with what physical tools he still had to be an effective to very good major league third baseman.  While many feared he might be a drain on the Mets, he actually proved to be one of their better everyday players.

Then, because life is not fair, disaster struck yet again.

In addition to Wright’s spinal stenosis, he is now dealing with a herniated disc in his neck.  Initially, he wanted no part of surgery.  He wanted to return this year.  He wanted to help the Mets win the World Series.  He wanted to hit another home run at Citi Field.  He earned that right, and he was going to do everything he could do to experience it this year.  As we learned yesterday, the chances of Wright’s return became all the more remote.  Yes, he still wants to rehab and try to avoid the surgery in his neck.  However, almost tellingly, Wright is now speaking with doctors about certain surgical options.  A surgery on his neck would almost assuredly end his 2016 season.  After that, who knows?

Now, as we saw last year and this year with Wright, we can never count him out.  He is going to do what he can to be on that field to lead the Mets to the World Series.  There is still hope he can return.  He should return.  He deserves to leave that field not just with a World Series, but on his own power.  He should be able to make his own decision.  It shouldn’t be forced upon him.  However, the more time passes, the more you question if that is going to happen.  Sometimes baseball can be cruel, and right now it is being about as cruel as it can get for David Wright.

Whenever Wright’s career is over, he will have retired as the greatest homegrown Met’s position player.  He will be the greatest Met to spend his entire career with the team.  As time progresses, Mets fans will talk about him in the way that Yankee fans talk about Don Mattingly, which would be all the more fitting as both players had their Hall of Fame chances and their careers taken away from them due to back injuries.

Selfishly, I just want Wright to hold on just a little longer.  I want to see him win that World Series.  I want my son to have some David Wright memories of his own.  I want him to be able to wear his David Wright jersey to something other than David Wright Day.

Two Hits Was All the Mets Got Off Taillon

Here’s a list of all the Mets who got hits off the Pirates rookie phenom Jameson Taillon through the first seven innings:

  1. Curtis Granderson

Don’t worry. Yoenis Cespedes put an end to the tomfoolery by immediately grounding into the 5-4-3 double play. Taillon would pitch a career high eight innings allowing two hits, no earned, and one walk with five strikeouts. Before tonight, Taillon never pitched more than seven innings at any level. He went past that point making the Mets look foolish in the process. 

Yes, the Mets are a compromised lineup without David Wright and Lucas Duda. Yes, it does hurt the offense when Neil Walker and Michael Conforto out of the lineup. However, that’s an excuse. 

The Mets put out a lineup with Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera, who were two high priced players free agents signed more for their offense than anything. Until this year James Loney and Alejandro De Aza were major league quality players. By the way, remember when De Aza was supposed to be the answer in centerfield? Also, the Mets had Kelly Johnson in the lineup, who the Mets thought so highly of they parted with Akeel Morris to get him (after thinking Eric Campbell was a better bench option). 

The other two batters were Wilmer Flores and Kevin Plawecki. Flores was the Mets starting shortstop last year because the Mets thought he was better than players like Jung Ho Kang (more on that in a minute). Now he’s a bench piece. Plawecki was the former first round pick, who, putting it nicely, isn’t any good. He showed us how bad he was again today. 

Aside from the 0-3, he was dreadful in the field. In the sixth, he dropped what should have been a foul out off the bat of Andrew McCutchen extending the at bat. Later in the inning, he bounced a an offline throw when Josh Harrison tried to steal second. The ball went into center, and Harrison went to third. Because Jacob deGrom was so good neither error hurt the Mets. 

However, deGrom wasn’t perfect when the Mets needed him to be. He made a mistake that Kang turned into a two run homerun in the sixth. The final line for deGrom was six innings allowing six hits, two earned, and one walk with nine strikeouts. For any other team, this would’ve been good enough for the win. Not for this putrid Mets offense

Jim Henderson allowed a two run home run to Starling Marte. The homer made the score 4-0, and it put the game out of reach. You know, if it wasn’t out of reach at 2-0. 
Look, teams will look bad against good pitching. Mets fans have seen their pitching do this to opponents. There is no shame is being shut down by a phenom like Taillon. The problem is, lately, every pitcher looks like Taillon against the Mets. 

Happy Flag Day

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States of America.  It’s up to you to decide whether or not it was created by Betsy Ross at George Washington‘s behest.  There’s no harm in perpetuating the fantasy.  As baseball fans at least pretend that baseball was invented by Union General Abner Doubleday in the quaint little village of Cooperstown, New York.  It’s why the Baseball Hall of Fame is located there.

As Americans and Mets fans, we all carry the fantasy that this October we will once again see the American Flag stretched across the outfield in Citi Field. We will all be getting residential flagpole installation services to fit our front yards with as many flagpoles as we can physically fit on the grass, and raising the star-spangled banner high into the sky for all to look upon in pride. Flag Day is a proud moment in our history, and I for one can’t wait for it.

IMG_0377

In actuality, it’s not really a fantasy.  The Mets faced the same issues last year with the injuries and the poor offense.  On this date last year, the Mets were 34-30.  This year, they are 34-28.  Lost in the David Wright and Lucas Duda injuries as well as the struggles from Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto is the fact that this Mets team is simply better than the one the Mets fielded last year.  Even in the worst of times, the Mets now have Yoenis Cespedes in the middloe of the lineup instead of John Mayberry and Eric Campbell.

So yes, on this Flag Day, we can still dream of the days in which the American flag once again adorns the Citi Field outfield.  We can hope for Wright and Granderson to hit homeruns while Noah Syndergaard intimidates batters from 60′ 6″ away.  We can also await the Mets raising a World Series flag in centerfield.

This Is Major League II

After going to the playoffs in Major League, every expected the Indians to repeat and possibly win the World Series.  The same goes for this year’s Mets team.  Last year, the Mets dealt with injuries, which hampered their ability to score enough runs to support a young pitching staff.  The Major League II Indians had the same problems:

The parallels don’t just end with the repeated problems.  They go much further.

The once cheap Indians spent money in the offseason to help improve the club.  For the Indians, it was Parkman.  For the Mets, it was bringing back Yoenis Cespedes.

Both Terry Collins and Lou Brown had to spend time in the hospital.  It makes you question which British show Collins was watching in a Milwaukee hospital.

Matt Harvey is having Wild Thing Rick Vaughn type of struggles during the season.

Both Willie Mays Hayes and Michael Conforto went from bursting on the scene to having sophomore slumps.

Instead of going out and making a huge transaction to fix the teams’ need, they went outside the majors to help the team.  The Mets acquired James Loney for cash considerations, and the Indians acquired Tanaka.

Speaking of Tanaka, he was at Citi Field visiting the Mets right before David Wright went on the DL:

photo  Andrew Beaton‘s Twitter Account.

So far, he hasn’t helped these Mets find their marbles. Perhaps, it’s because Juan Uribe took them to Cleveland of all places. 

There are only two more steps remaining for the Mets to truly become the Major League II Indians:

  1. They need to bring back Michael Cuddyer the way the Indians brought back Dorn; and
  2. The Mets need to win one more series than they did the prior year.

Hopefully, this is the point in the season when we can cue the Mets going on an insane winning streak allowing them to take control of the NL East and get to the World Series. 

Lucroy Isn’t the Answer

The Mets have three big holes due to three players going down with significant injuries. Lucas Duda has a stress fracture in his back. David Wright has a herniated disc in his neck in addition to his spinal stenosis. Travis d’Arnaud has a torn rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. 

With this in mind, the Mets have to answer a few questions as the trade deadline approaches:

  1. Are any of the three players likely to return?
  2. Do the Mets have viable internal options to replace that player?
  3. What is out there on the trade market?

Working backwards, we see the biggest name on the trade market is going to be Jonathan Lucroy. 

Lucroy is having a terrific year this season hitting .304/.361/.515 with nine homeruns and 28 RBI. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Lucroy is playing this well as he is better in even numbered years than odd numbered years since he became a full time starter in 2011. In 2012, his OPS+ was 132; in 2014, it was 131, and this year it is 132. In short, we can reasonably expect Lucroy to keep this up. 

Lucroy’s just as successful behind the plate. He is a good pitch framer. He’s gunned down 42.9% of would be basestealers. Simply put, Lucroy is as much of a complete catcher as there is in the game. He’s also a massive upgrade over d’Arnaud’s replacements. 

Since d’Arnaud’s last game on April 25th, Rene Rivera and Kevin Plawecki have combined to hit .190/.273/.289. While they have been good pitch framers, and Rivera has been a stabilizing force behind the plate, Plawecki and Rivera have both established themselves as poor hitting backup catchers. The Mets need a starting catcher that can hit. That was supposed to be d’Arnaud. It could be Lucroy now. 

With that said, the Mets should pass on Lucroy despite his being better than any of the Mets catchers. 

The reason the Mets can do this is because d’Arnaud has begun playing in rehab games, and he has had no setbacks this far. He will begin catching in rehab games soon. As per baseball’s 20 game rehab rule, d’Arnaud is set to return to the Mets on Sunday, June 26th at the latest. 

Assuming he’s healthy, d’Arnaud can continue being a good overall catcher. He’s a better than average pitch framer. He’s coming off a .268/.340/.485 season. He hit three homeruns in the postseason last year. The only issue that remains is if he can throw out base stealers with his injured shoulder. With the way Mets pitchers hold on base runners, that may not be as big an issue as one might normally believe. 

With his injury history, there may come a point in time the Mets decide to move on from d’Arnaud. That time may come sooner rather than later. However, now is not that time. The Mets have bigger issues. 

James Loney has been a fine stopgap at first base, but he’s still only hitting .250/.302/.350. He’s not the long term solution. Wilmer Flores has done a yeoman’s job at third hitting .389/.450/.500. He is been much better with his approach at the plate. He is working the counts and starting to draw some walks. He also has an unsustainably high .500 BABIP leading you to believe he is due for a regression back to the .255/.292/.385 career hitter he is. Overall, the Mets continue to have long term holes at first and third with no one really knowing when or if Wright and Duda can return. 

Accordingly, the Mets need to husband their resources so they can make a move to acquire a third and/or first baseman. That’s not Lucroy UNLESS the Mets feel comfortable paying the huge price he’ll command on the trade market to play first base . . . a position he has only played 43 games in his seven year career. 

Editor’s Note: this was first published metsmerizedonline.com