Gavin Cecchini

With the Mets cutting both Luis Guillorme and Gavin Cecchini from Major League camp, the organization inches closer and closer to having to make an important decision on both players. In a little more than two weeks, the Las Vegas 51s will open their season, and new manager Tony DeFrancesco will have to decide who plays second and who plays shortstop.

Both players were drafted as shortstops, and until last year, they mainly played that position. However, with the meteoric rise of Amed Rosario, the Mets appear set at that position for the next decade leaving Guillorme and Cecchini to battle to become the Mets second baseman of the future. That’s not small battle with Asdrubal Cabrera being a pending free agent, and T.J. Rivera possibly getting another crack at the job sometime this season.

With this battle in mind, the Mets have a major decision ahead of them, and the organization needs to being a framework for how they want to shape the competition. The team has a few options on that front.

Cecchini Plays Second

The Mets have given Cecchini as much time as they possibly could to have Cecchini prove he can play shortstop. With his career .944 fielding percentage at the position coupled with his difficulty making accurate throws, it’s apparent he’s not going to regularly play short at the Major League level, so why waste time playing him at short?

Between him and Guillorme, Cecchini is the player who needs more seasoning at second. We have already seen Guillorme play at a Gold Glove level at second base in Binghamton last year, but we did not see that from Cecchini. Ultimately, if the Mets want to have as many viable options at second base as possible, Cecchini needs to play there everyday so he can improve defensively.

Guillorme Plays Second

Over the last few seasons, with the Mets organizational shortstop depth, Guillorme has seen himself increasingly playing second base. Having seen him there, it’s clear he’s the best defensive second baseman in the entire Mets organization. This is important because Cabrera, Jose Reyes, and Wilmer Flores are notoriously poor defensive second baseman.

One of the reasons why Guillorme was added to the 40 man roster this past offseason was because of his exceptional defense. It is entirely possible the Mets considered their current defensive options and foresaw a potential future needs for Guillorme’s glove at some point next season. If that is truly the case, the Mets may want to have Guillorme focused on a position where they may find themselves in real need for his defense.

No Set Positions

As the 51s begin their season, the team will have a number of versatile players with Cecchini, Guillorme, and Ty Kelly. That number will increase in the even Phillip Evans does not make the Opening Day roster. These are four players who could conceivably play in the majors in 2018. These are also four players who have some level of versatility.

That’s important because the Mets will never know which position they will have a need as the season progresses. Remember, last year, infielders Cabrera, Flores, Gonzalez, Reyes, and Rosario all spent time on the disabled list last year. Really with few exceptions, the Mets entire roster has shown themselves to be quite injury prone necessitating everyone in Triple-A be at the ready.

With Cecchini and Guillorme being on the 40 man roster, they would seem to have the inside track over Evans, Kelly, or even David Thompson in the even Todd Frazier is injured or needs to switch positions. This inside track is only as good as either’s ability to play other positions. Certainly, it would help their chances to get called up to the majors if they played some third base or even some outfield. Given his defensive struggles, Cecchini may need to develop more defensive versatility than Guillorme.

The Plan

Right now, we do not really know which player the Mets organization values more, nor do we know if they believe either player can truly be an everyday player at the Major League level. What we do know is there will one day be a second base vacancy, and internally, these are the two players most adept at taking over that position for the next decade. The question is whether they will get their chance.

We will soon find out what the Mets have in store for either player as the Las Vegas season opens on April 7th.