James Loney
Last year, Travis d’Arnaud established himself as a major league catcher both behind and at the plate. He showed how far he had come from the player that had to be sent to down to the minors in 2014 because he wasn’t hitting.
In 67 games, d’Arnaud hit .268/.340/.485 with 12 homers and 41 RBI. He had a 127 OPS+. For the most part last year, d’Arnaud spent his time hitting fifth, sixth, and seventh. For whatever the reason, d’Arnaud was at his best when he was hitting seventh in the lineup. When he did hit seventh, d’Arnaud was hitting .311/.382/.541 with two homers and 12 RBI. d’Arnaud was hitting seventh in the lineup when he hit three homers in the postseason last year. Given the construction of the Mets roster this year, you could make the case that d’Arnaud should’ve been hitting seventh.
Instead, Terry Collins sees him as the eighth place hitter on this Mets team. There was a legitimate reason for it when he was hitting behind players like David Wright, Lucas Duda, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Neil Walker, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Now, it is a bad decision. Duda and Wright are on the disabled list, and Conforto is in the minor leagues. Now, Collins is hitting d’Arnaud behind players he is clearly better. Take a look at the players who are currently hitting ahead of d’Arnaud:
- James Loney – a career .285/.338/.411 hitter who was released by the Rays prior to the start of the season.
- Wilmer Flores – a career .252/.290/.383 hitter who lost his starting job to Ruben Tejada last year and was never considered for a starting job this season
- Brandon Nimmo – a promising rookie
Given how much d’Arnaud progressed last year, it is easy to say he is better than these options, and accordingly, he should hit higher in the lineup. However, d’Arnaud is struggling this year only hitting .206/.270/.250 with no homers. There are various reasons for these struggles from his wrapping his hands around Julio Franco style when he bats to him starting with an open stance and closing it as the pitch is being delivered. He’s just not as quiet in his stance as he was last year when he was having his most successful season. It’s possible some of these changes were made due to his shoulder. It’s also possible these changes were made due to the struggles he has been facing while hitting eighth in the order.
In 17 of his 19 games this year, d’Arnaud has hit .203/.277/.254 while hitting eighth in the order. For his career, he is hitting .194/.278/.287 from that spot in the lineup. That includes him going 0-3 against the Nationals yesterday. In his entire career, d’Arnaud has never hit well out of the eighth spot in the lineup. It has been more of the same this year, and quite possibly, it has led to d’Arnaud reverting to some bad habits at the plate. The Mets need to get him going in order to help with their offensive woes. It’s possible the best way to cure help him and the Mets is to take him out of the eighth spot.
The Mets chance was in the top of the sixth. Yusmeiro Petit walked Neil Walker to load the bases with one out. Dusty Baker then summoned Oliver Perez from the bullpen. The very same Oliver Perez Mets fans love to hate.
After Ollie struck out James Loney and got Wilmer Flores to meekly pop out to center to end the threats hereby earning the win, Mets fans hate him all the more now. In fact, there’s a short list of things Mets fans hate more than him. About the only thing that really comes to mind is the Mets offense, especially after they got shut out tonight.
If you didn’t expect the Mets to have a low offensive output, you didn’t realize Matt Harvey was starting. In Harvey’s 81 career starts, the Mets have scored two runs or less for him 35 times. That’s 43% of the time. It’s absurd.
Like the other 34 times, you can’t pin this one on Harvey. He had allowed one earned on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He was only pulled due to a length rain delay that lasted over an hour and a half.
After the rain delay, Terry Collins initially went to Erik Goeddel. After Goeddel walked Danny Espinosa, Collins brought Jerry Blevins into the game do face the left-handed pinch hitter Clint Robinson. Naturally, when you have to go deep in your bullpen tonight and have Logan Verrett making a spot start tomorrow, you want to play the match-up game in the fourth inning.
Blevins would get out of the inning unscathed, but Bryce Harper would launch a two run home run in the fifth to make it a 3-0 game. The Nationals would stretch the lead to a 5-0 game in the seventh when Mets killer Wilson Ramos hit a two run double off of Hansel Robles to make it a 5-0 game. The Mets intentionally walked Daniel Murphy to get to Ramos. To add insult to injury, Robles would have to leave the game after a Ryan Zimmerman got him on the knee.
It was a tough night all around. Harvey took the loss dropping him to 4-10 on the season. The Mets also lost another game in the division and remain in third place.
Game Notes: Alejandro De Aza e texted the game in the fourth as Curtis Granderson had trouble getting loose after the rain delay. De Aza was 0-2. Brandon Nimmo had another good game going 1-4. Nationals rookie Lucas Giolito pitched four scoreless in his major league debut.
In the top of the third, the Mets went up 4-0, and it seemed like the game was over. The Mets were hitting Nationals’ starter Joe Ross hard. The Mets had Noah Syndergaard on the mound who never loses with a four run lead:
Noah Syndergaard is 13-1 in his career when the @Mets score 4+ runs in a game
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 28, 2016
Then the bottom of the third happened. The Nationals would send nine men to the plate. The Nationals scored five runs on five hits, one walk, and four stolen bases. Like most of baseball, the Nationals ran wild on Syndergaard:
.@Nationals running wild on division rivals with 6 stolen bases. https://t.co/KQ4dixHN7L pic.twitter.com/8XsZ3CS3Nz
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2016
Syndergaard just didn’t have it tonight. As Ron Darling would say, Syndergaard looked flustered. For a pitcher that rarely walks anyone, he issued three walks. He threw a wild pitch in the fateful third. With him previously complaining of some elbow soreness, and the recent Steven Matz news, there will be some Mets fans who panic. Mercifully, Collins pulled Matz after three innings after he threw 71 pitches allowing seven hits, five earned, and three walks with five strikeouts.
In true Mets fashion, an embattled Ross would settle down. Neither he nor the other Nationals pitchers would allow another run.
However, Sean Gilmartin and Erik Goeddel would. Gilmartin pitched two innings allowing seven hits, five earned, and one walk with one strikeout. Goeddel allowed a run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in two innings. Amazingly, Antonio Bastardo was the only Mets pitcher that didn’t allow a run.
The only thing worse than the Mets pitching tonight was James Loney‘s defense. To say he had fall-down left, fall-down right range would’ve been complimentary. During the key rallies, there were a few balls hit by him that a first baseman with range could’ve fielded. He also made a mental error in the fifth inning. With the infield in, he fielded a ball off the bat of Ben Revere. Instead of stepping on first, he threw home to try to get Danny Espinosa, who he had no chance of throwing out at the plate. Revere would later score on a Jayson Werth double.
The fifth inning might still be happening if not for Werth’s classless play. With the score 10-4, Werth broke home on a Bryce Harper infield single, and Loney easily threw him out.
Overall, the Nationals beat the Mets in every way possible. It was an 11-4 laugher for them:
#Nats lead 6-4 heading to Bottom 5 thanks to Murph's 50th RBI of the season.#VoteMurph: https://t.co/H43Xregbxb pic.twitter.com/2u5qMfyJzI
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 28, 2016
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo collected his first career hit and run scored. He finished the night 2-4 with a run.
This was supposed to be an easy game. The Mets were up 5-0 heading into the top of the fifth. James Loney hit a three run homer to make it 8-0. However, that’s not all that happened in the top of the fifth. Steven Matz was rubbing his pitching elbow in the dugout. Everyone saw him doing this but Terry Collins and Dan Warthen.
Matz came out in the fifth throwing a slower fastball (from 94 MPH to 92 MPH). The Braves opened the inning with three consecutive doubles. The second double was a can of corn off the bat of Nick Markakis, but Yoenis Cespedes lost it. It’s not really on Cespedes as the outfield lighting at Turner Field is a joke.
So it’s safe to say @ynscspds didn’t have a beat on this fly ball: https://t.co/v5HskiFO7x pic.twitter.com/iyd4JQtCrR
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 25, 2016
That’s the type of inning it was as Matz allowed six earned on eight hits. The big blow was a Brandon Snyder opposite field pinch hit three run homer.
Matz would eventually get chased after a Freddie Freeman RBI single. Hansel Robles then came in to bail out the Mets and preserve the bullpen again. The latter was very important with Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins unavailable. Robles got out of the inning without allowing another run. He would go 2.2 innings for yet another well earned win. For the week, Robles has pitched 8.1 innings.
Everything seemed calm down until Cespedes was picked off base in the seventh. Cespedes rolled his ankle stepping on first and had to be helped off the field. Every Mets fan breathed a sigh of relief as Cespedes took the field in the bottom of the seventh.
Once Cespedes was alright, it was easy to admit that a lot of good things happened tonight:
- Neil Walker was 3-4 with three runs scored
- Loney was 2-3 with three runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer
- Travis d’Arnaud was 1-4 with three RBI
The last two RBI were interesting. For some reason, the Braves walked Michael Conforto to load the bases to face d’Arnaud. Considering the fact that Conforto has been terrible since May, it was an odd decidion, and d’Arnaud made the Braves pay with a two RBI single.
It was good to see the Mets offense clicking, and it was great to see Jeurys Familia break Armando Benitez‘s record for consecutive saves to begin the season.
Familia would have to go four outs for his 25th save. Antonio Bastardo allowed a two out double to Markakis in the eighth, and Terry Collins went to Familia. Familia got Adonis Garcia, last night’s villain, to get out of the inning. However, the ninth wouldn’t be easy.
Familia allowed the first two on base, and then Chase d’Arnaud, Travis’ brother, was sent up to bunt. Wilmer Flores dove for the bunt, but barely missed it. However, it confused the Braves. Flores ran back to third for the force, and he threw to second to complete the unconventional 5-5-4 double play. Familia struck out the last batter if the game.
Still, that pitch went to the backstop. It forced d’Arnaud to race to the backstop and make a quick throw to first. It was off-line, but Loney held the bag to end the game.
It was a fitting end to a strange 8-6 game that was never easy.
There exists two Dilson Herreras. The first Dilson Herrera is the player who absolutely rakes in the minors hitting .310/.362/.504 over two seasons at AAA. This is the player the Mets see as their second basemen of the future. They see him being the Mets everyday second baseman as soon as Opening Day 2017.
Then there is the other Dilson Herrera. This Herrera has struggled at the plate in his limited time in the majors. When Daniel Murphy went down in 2014, Herrera struggled in the 18 games he did play hitting only .220/.303/.407. Last year, when David Wright went down, Herrera was first summoned as the Mets long-term plan to improve the team. Herrera struggled again only hitting .195/.290/.317 in 25 games. Ultimately this forced the Mets to start looking elsewhere to fulfill the void left by Wright’s injury. It seems the Mets believe the Dilson Herrea who has struggled in the majors is the true Dilson Herrera.
In 2016, David Wright went down again. However, this time, the Mets did not turn to Herrera. Instead, they went with a combination of Eric Campbell and Ty Kelly until Wilmer Flores returned from the disabled list. Even when the Mets lost Lucas Duda to his own long-term injury, the Mets still refrained from calling-up Herrera. Instead, they made a trade for James Loney. You could make the argument that the Mets could have moved Neil Walker and moved him to third base. However, the Mets made the arguably rational decision not to ask Walker to play a position he has only played 15 times in his career and a position he hasn’t played in about 10 years. With that in mind, it didn’t make sense to call-up Herrera as he would have had to stay on the bench. You want a young player like him getting regular at bats and improving. It is hard to do that from the bench. Overall, the Mets seemed content to go with Loney and Flores at the corner infield positions.
Yes, the Mets have struggled offensively with Flores and Loney at the corner infield positions. However, it’s hard to blame either of them for these struggles. Loney has hit a respectable .291/.349/.405 since coming over to the Mets. Since he has returned from the disabled list and taken over third base responsibilities, Flores has hit .262/.319/.415. The production isn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but they are solid numbers not only for temporary replacements, but also for bottom of the lineup hitters. Still, the Mets have World Series aspirations, and they realize that if they want to get to that point, they probably need to do better than Loney and Flores on the corners.
Accordingly, the Mets have begun to consider different possibilities. Next week, the Mets are going to bring in Yulieski Gourriel for a workout presumably to see if he is capable of playing second or third base. Also, it seems increasingly likely that the Mets will bring Jose Reyes back to Queens to either play second or third. If the Mets were to bring either Gourriel or Reyes aboard, it is at least possible, that move would require the Mets moving Walker to third. With that in mind, it is surprising that the Mets haven’t at least investigated the possibility of calling-up Herrera to play second. It’s simply ponderous.
If you want justification for the Mets decision, you could point to Herrera only hitting .290/.337/.496 in AAA this year. However, this overlooks the fact that Herrera had an extremely slow start after dealing with some early season injuries. Since April 24th, Herrera is hitting .301/.354/.488 with 13 doubles, two triples, and 11 homers. Over the course of the entire season, Herrera is hitting .338/.385/.606 with runners in scoring position. Herrera is hitting, and he can certainly help the Mets. It is surprising that the Mets are going to pursue other opportunities before even giving Herrera a look in the majors. It’s even more surprising given the fact that they have also given Kelly and Matt Reynolds opportunities this year.
The Mets haven’t even tried calling up Herrera through the Mets offensive struggles. They gave lesser prospects chances at playing time. Now, they are looking outside the organization for offensive help. Overall, while no one is saying it publicly, it seems that the Mets are not as confident in Herrera as they once were. It’s odd that it may have come to this when Herrera is still only 22 years old.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com
When the lineup was announced, the main reaction everyone had was “HOW CAN YOU START MATT REYNOLDS IN LEFTFIELD!” Matt Reynolds never played in the outfield in his professional career, and the Mets were sitting Michael Conforto against Danny Duffy, the pitcher off whom he hit a home run against in the World Series. In the bottom of the sixth, Reynolds made Terry Collins look like a genius with his first career home run:
His homerun broke the 3-3 tie, and it put Noah Syndergaard in position for a win after what was an uneven outing.
The Mets other three runs were courtesy of the Mets other shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera, who actually played shortstop today. In the fourth, he scored off a James Loney two out RBI single with a nifty slide:
In the top of the fifth that 1-0 lead would quickly evaporte when Syndergaard allowed Chelsor Cuthbert to hit a solo home run. The Royals continued the rally, and they would eventually went ahead 2-1 on a Whit Merrifield RBI single scoring Jarrod Dyson. This meant Cabrera would have to go back to work by hitting a go-ahead two run home run (scoring Curtis Granderson).
Syndergaard had a rough sixth inning. He got Rene Rivera crossed-up not once but twice. One of them went for a wild pitch moving Salvador Perez to third. He would score on a Paulo Orlando RBI single tying the game at three. The Mets would go ahead for good on the aforementioned Reynolds’ home run.
In the eighth, Cabrera would leave his impression on the game AGAIN with a great stab and behind the back throw to get the force out at second.
It would help Addison Reed pitch a scoreless eighth. Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the 4-3 win. With that save, Familia is now tied with Armando Benitez for most consecutive saves to start a season (24).
After the stretch the Mets went through, including getting swept by the dreadful Braves, you would feel terrific after sweeping a two game set against the team that beat you in the World Series. However, there remains some trepidation as Yoenis Cespedes had to leave the game with an apparent wrist injury after his walk in the fifth. He was replaced by Alejandro De Aza, who may be set to get more playing time in center if Cespedes needs to miss any period of time. Given the way De Aza has played this year, it is an not all too enticing proposition.
With that said, there’s nothing left to do but enjoy this win while waiting with baited breath for the Cespedes news. By the way, we still don’t know about Zack Wheeler and his elbow. Good times.
Game Notes: Jerry Blevins continues to put up zeroes:
Jerry Blevins has gone 21 consecutive games without allowing a run, the 2nd longest streak in franchise history (Mark Guthrie, 33 in 2002).
— New York Mets Stats (@NYMStats) June 22, 2016
On July 31, 2015, the Mets were three games behind the Washington Nationals. The Mets had the pitching to win, but they still needed the offense. Most of the Mets best hitters were either on the disabled list or had just returned from their own stint on the disabled list. Under these circumstances, the Mets made a trade for Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes played his first game with the Mets on August 1st. From that point until the end of the season, Cespedes would hit .287/.337/.604 with 17 homers and 44 RBI. The Mets would go from three games back in the division to winning the National League East by seven games. The Mets then set out on a magical postseason run that found them falling just short of winning a World Series.
Many have posited that but for the Cespedes’ acquisition, the Mets would not have even made the playoffs. Cespedes was credited only with raising his game, but also raising the play of his teammates. Cespedes’ production and the ensuing run the Mets went on were seen as proof positive of that fact. Unfortunately, that narrative hasn’t been proven true this year.
Last year, the Mets were 37-22 in the 59 games Cespedes was with the Mets. This year the Mets have played 68 games, and they are 36-32. Despite having played in nine additional games, the Mets still have less wins with Cespedes on the roster. The Mets are faltering despite the fact that Cespedes is producing near the same levels he produced last year. In fact, Cespedes is hitting .287/.352/.564 with 17 homers and 43 RBI this year. Last year, this production was seen as transformative. This year many are left to inquire what moves the Mets need to make to return to the postseason.
The reason for this is simple. The current Mets team is worse than the 2015 version. For example, here is the lineup from Cespedes’ first game with the Mets:
- Curtis Granderson CF
- Daniel Murphy 3B
- Yoenis Cespedes LF
- Lucas Duda 1B
- Wilmer Flores 2B
- Kelly Johnson RF
- Travis d’Arnaud C
- Ruben Tejada SS
Here is the Mets lineup from Sunday:
- Curtis Granderson RF
- Asdrubal Cabrera SS
- Yoenis Cespedes CF
- Neil Walker 2B
- James Loney 1B
- Wilmer Flores 3B
- Michael Conforto LF
- Kevin Plawecki C
No, the lineup Cespedes first appeared would undergo some tweaks as the season progressed. First, Granderson would move back to RF, and Cespedes would play CF most of the time. Additionally, Murphy played some third base, but his primary position with the team was second base. Furthermore, until David Wright returned, Juan Uribe received the bulk of the playing time at third base. Finally, in both 2015 and 2016, Conforto was the primary left fielder that played alongside Cespedes in center. With that in mind, your only conclusion can be that the 2016 Mets as currently constituted are worse than the 2015 Mets. Here are the stats:
| 2016 | 2015 | |||
| C | Plawecki | .194/.301/.258 | d’Arnaud | .268/.340/.485 |
| 1B | Loney | .279/.329/.412 | Duda | .244/.352/.486 |
| 2B | Walker | .266/.335/.477 | Murphy | .281/.322/.449 |
| 3B | Flores | .241/.308/.380 | Uribe | .219/.301/.430 |
| SS | Cabrera | .265/.325/.394 | Tejada | .261/.338/.350 |
| LF | Conforto | .270/.335/.506 | Conforto | .231/.297/.447 |
| RF | Granderson | .223/.310/.449 | Granderson | .259/.364/.457 |
Overall, other than Walker, the 2016 Mets have no real advantage over the 2015 Mets from an offensive standpoint.
Granderson and Conforto are worse versions of themselves. Cabrera has hit for more power than Tejada did last year, but Cabrera’s stats are buttressed by a strong April. Since May 1st, Cabrera has hit .249/.306/.391. As for the catching and first base situations, the Mets have been trying to keep afloat since the Duda and d’Arnaud injuries. There is no timetable on Duda’s return. The expectation is d’Arnaud returns today.
This all tells us two things. First, Cespedes really didn’t make the players around him better last year. Yes, his presence in the lineup made the Mets a better team. However, him being a Met didn’t make the other Mets better players.
That leads to the second point, which is Sandy Alderson didn’t do the job he was tasked to do. He built a Mets team that lacked sufficient depth to carry the Mets through the anticipated Wright injury (even if the injury was of a different nature), and the likely Duda injury (again the injury was of a different nature).
So yes, Cespedes was great last year, and the Mets won. Cespedes has been similarly great this year, but the results are different. The results are different because it takes a lot more than Cespedes being great to make the Mets great. We know that now. Hopefully, so do the Mets.
From time to time, if you listen to the Mets telecasts close enough, you will hear Keith Hernandez tell the story of his 1975 season. After getting called-up and playing well in 1974, he thought he was in the majors for good. That wasn’t the case. In 1975, he was hitting .250/.309/.362 in 64 games. He left the Cardinals with little other choice but to send him down to the minors, and they did.
Initially, Hernandez was humiliated by the moment. However, he took advantage of the opportunity. Down in the minors, he got his swing right. He came back to the majors in 1976, and he he hit .289/.376/.428. He was back in the majors, and he was back for good. Hernandez would go on to win the 1979 batting title and MVP Award (shared with Willie Stargell). He had a bat to match his unparalleled defense. From that adversity, Hernandez would become a champion as a member of the 1982 and 1986 World Series teams. In total, Hernandez put together a borderline Hall of Fame career. It is something he might not have done had he not ever gone to the minors. As he has said, it was the best thing that ever happened to his career.
If you listen to Mets telecasts closely enough, you will also notice that Hernandez is a huge fan of Michael Conforto. You will also notice Conforto is struggling mightily like Hernandez did in 1975.
It was not too long ago that Conforto seemed to be a budding superstar. Having never played above AA, Conforto was called-up to the majors last year to hit .270/.335/.506 in 56 games. He hit two home runs in Game 4 of the World Series. He started this season off hitting .365/.442/.676 with four homers in April. The question then wasn’t whether he was major league ready, the question was how high his ceiling could possibly be. It seemed that Conforto was a likely All Star, possibly more. Then the calendar turned to May.
Since May 1st, Conforto has hit .157/.212/.321. There could be a multitude of reasons why this has happened from major league pitchers figuring him out and Conforto failing to make the needed adjustments to the cortisone shot Conforto needed in his wrist. Bottom line is Conforto has gone from playing at an All Star level to being a player who belongs in the minor leagues. Considering the fact that Terry Collins wants to “shake things up” it may be a signal that the Mets are willing to demote Conforto. It may not be the worst thing for Conforto or the Mets.
Conforto can go to Las Vegas and get himself right. He can spend time down there not only working on his swing but also his approach at the plate. Furthermore, hitting in a hitter’s haven like the Pacific Coast League could do wonders for a player that has been struggling for well over a month in the majors. We all saw how well this worked for Travis d’Arnaud back in 2014. He came back a much better player after his time in the minors. We also saw the positive effects of such a demotion with Keith Hernandez.
In the interim, the Mets could choose to give Alejandro De Aza some additional playing time to see if he can start playing like the player they thought he was when the Mets signed him in the offseason. The Mets could decided to turn to Brandon Nimmo who has been raking in AAA. Maybe, just maybe, the Mets could allow Conforto to start taking grounders at first considering James Loney is not the long term answer and no one knows when Lucas Duda can return from the disabled list.
Ultimately, this could be the best thing that has happened to both Conforto and the Mets. If the Mets have designs on returning to the World Series, they are going to need Conforto, who, when right, is the most complete hitter on the team. While he’s finding his stroke in the minors, Nimmo could get his chance to see if he is indeed ready to play in the majors. If Conforto is able to pick up first base, then the Mets could keep Nimmo in left when Conforto is ready to return to the majors. It might be time to send Conforto to AAA for not only his own good, but also for the good of the Mets.
After all, it worked for Keith Hernandez.
It’s the bottom of the ninth, and James Loney takes his lead from second. He represents the tying run. With his speed, or lack thereof, the ball is most likely going to need to be hit deep in the outfield to score him. With that in mind, Terry Collins knows he can’t let Rene Rivera bat in this situation, and he turns to his bench. He then summons Ty Kelly because he seriously had no better choice to make.
With that said, Kelly was the wrong choice. It should’ve been Travis Taijeron there.
On a bench with a dearth of power, Taijeron would be a welcome addition. This year Taijeron is hitting .314/.394/.587 in AAA. As we saw in Spring Training, his slugging isn’t a Vegas desert mirage. It’s legitimate power. He’s hit for power at each and every level he’s played. On top of that, Taijeron is a good corner outfielder. With that’s said, with the amount of strikeouts heaccumulates, there is a legitimate issue as to how his skills will translate to the majors.
What we do know is that Kelly’s skills don’t translate well. Despite his one home run, he hasn’t hit the ball with much authority from either side of the plate. It’s why he’s hitting .160/.222/.280 in his 27 plate appearances. He’s shown why four organizations passed on him, and why he didn’t get a call to the majors until he was 27. And yet, the Mets won’t move on from him allowing Taijeron to get his chance.
We don’t know if Taijeron would’ve come through in the ninth inning last night. What we do know is that Kelly didn’t, and no one reasonably expected him to get that big hit. Last night was yet another reason why the Mets should send down Kelly and give Taijeron his shot.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net
Lucas Duda went on the disabled list almost a month ago due to a stress fracture in his back. So far, the stress fracture in his back is not allowing him to do anything other than ride a stationary bike. As each day passes, the question needs to be asked about whether Duda can play again in 2016. The question needs to be asked about whether the Mets can sit and wait for Duda to return.
For the time being, the Mets solution has been James Loney. In his 13 games as a Met, Loney has hit .260/.302/.340 with 77 OPS+. This is as short sample size, but based upon his .280/.322/.357 batting line and 91 OPS+ last year, it may be fair to say that this is now who Loney is as a player. The positive aspects of having Loney is that he’s a better option than Eric Campbell and Ty Kelly. The negative is that his bat is just not going to cut it over the course of a season. If Duda is not going to be able to return, Loney’s bat is going to force the Mets to make another move for a long term solution at first base.
Obviously, if the Mets are going to make a move, they are going to have to obtain a player who is going to put up better numbers than Loney. At this point in the season, there are going to be very few sellers, and there are going to be very limited options at first base. At this point, the line of demarcation are teams that are under .500 teams who are at least ten games out of the division. That means if the Mets are going to upgrade at first base, they would be looking to swing a trade with the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Diego Padres. With those parameters in place, here is the list of potential trade targets
Joe Mauer – he’s returned to form hitting .286/.388/.420. However, given his contract and the fact that he’s the Twin’s David Wright, it’s hard to imagine the Mets would add his salary, and that the Twins would trade him.
C.J. Cron – Cron is the Mets version of Wilmer Flores. He’s a low OBP hitter with some pop in his bat. This year he is hitting .249/.305/.389, and he is a career .257/.389/.431 hitter. While Cron is still only 26, and he has some upside, he is not a clear upgrade over Loney.
Kole Calhoun – Presuming Calhoun can play first base everyday is a stretch considering he’s only played nine games there in his five year career. At the plate, he’s amidst a career year hitting .295/.369/.461 with eight homers. However, if the Mets do think he can play first base, it is going to take a lot to get from from the suddenly stingy Angels as Calhoun is still under team control until 2020.
Albert Pujols – there are $140 million reasons over the next five years why this will never happen.
Yonder Alonso – As a prospect in the Reds system, Alonso was supposed to be a slugging on base machine. This year he is nothing more than a .245/.306/.324 hitter. While his career .270/.336/.385 line is an upgrade over Loney, it is not clear that this version of Alonso will be.
Danny Valencia – it can’t be a Mets trade rumor analysis without mentioning Valencia who has played 25 career games at first base. He’s been great this year hitting .335/.379/.567 with 10 homers. He’s under team control until 2018. If Duda does return, he can shift to third. If Duda and Wright return, it’s a nice problem to have. The main sticking point with Valencia is going to be the cost.
Billy Butler – While Butler is best suited for DH, he has played first base almost every year of his career. Unfortunately, the question with respect to Butler isn’t his glove, it’s his bat. Butler is hitting .257/.296/.396 this year, and he has not had an OPS+ over 100 since 2013.
Ryan Howard – stick a fork in him, he’s done.
Freddie Freeman – the Braves have removed everything of value from this roster including the copper wiring. The only thing that remains is Freeman who is having a poor year hitting .248/.343/.432, which is to say, he’s a big upgrade over what the Mets have. Before this year, the 26 year old Freeman hit .286/.368/.467 in each of his five seasons as a starter. The main sticking points to a Mets/Braves trade will be the $106.5 million Freeman is owed through 2021. It’s a reasonable contract given his skill set and the fact that he will be 31 when the contract ends. However, it does not appear the Mets would be willing to take on that type of contract even if they were willing to part with the necessary prospects.
Chris Carter – This year Carter has been what he has always been – a pure slugger. Carter doesn’t walk, he strikes out a lot, and he hits a lot of homeruns. He’s hitting .223/.295/.507 this year with 17 homeruns. He would be the Mets homerun leader, but he is not getting on base. Carter is the all or nothing player that has been the entire Mets offense this year.
Joey Votto – he was a superstar, and he’s one of the few trade pieces the Reds actually have. He can be a real difference maker. However, he’s due $172 million until 2023, which is his age 39 season. After that he has a $7 million buyout.
Jay Bruce – he has three career games at first base, and he has a very reasonable $13 million trade option for next year. He has returned to form this year hitting .271/.329/.584 with 15 homers. The issue is the Reds turned down a straight up trade for Zack Wheeler last year. With that said, it does not appear there is room for a trade for Bruce even if you’re willing to ignore his limited first base exposure.
Paul Goldschmidt – there is absolutely no way the Diamondbacks are trading him.
Jake Lamb – he’s a young player having a breakout year, who is also under team control through 2o21. He’ll be easier to acquire than Goldschmidt, but this trade isn’t happening either.
Yasmany Tomas – Tomas is interesting because since he’s came to the majors from Cuba, the Diamondbacks aren’t quite sure where to play him. With him owed $55.5 million through 2020, the Diamondbacks may be willing to move their .260/.313/.425 hitter to retool so they can make another run for it next year (or the second half). However, his salary may be just want keeps the Mets at bay.
Wil Myers – The 25 year old Myers is finally living up to some of the potential everyone envisioned when he was traded to the Royals for James Shields. He’s in the All Star conversation as he is hitting .283/.324/.506 with 14 homers. He’s also versatile, which could be of great benefit to the Mets. All of this is also why the small market Padres would not want to trade him unless they are getting a massive haul in return.
Yangervis Solarte – like Myers, he’s having a terrific year, he’s versatile, and he’s under team controll. The Mets are going to part with a lot to get him.
Brett Wallace – Like Loney, Wallace is not hitting for power. Unlike Loney, he gets on base with a .208/.352/.369 batting line which is good for a 101 OPS+.
Overall, the first base upgrades that would be available for the Mets have bigger contracts. Seeing how the Mets have operated the past few seasons, it is difficult to imagine them being willing to pay someone like Freeman. It is also difficult to imagine the Mets would be willing to part with the prospects necessary to acquire a Solarte. In the end, this means the Mets are most likely sticking with Loney until Duda is able to return to the Mets.