Ty Kelly
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.
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:
- Hits – 7th
- Homers – 3rd
- RBI – 7th
- Average – 5th
- OBP – 8th
- 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.
The Mets have gone through Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, and Matt Reynolds as bench players. Unfortunately, none of them performed up to expectations. Finally, the Mets felt compelled to trade a good prospect like Akeel Morris for Kelly Johnson. It was a deal made after the Mets had already gone through almost every single last option they had in the minors who could play multiple positions.
Actually, they didn’t. The Mets never gave T.J. Rivera a shot.
Rivera has done all you could ask from a player. He has learned multiple positions. He’s capable of playing every position in the infield even if he’s not truly adept at any single position. After being passed over for a promotion to the majors by Kelly, Rivera dedicated himself to learning the outfield to make himself even more attractive to be a major league call-up. He has hit .361/.401/.526 so far in AAA this year. He as the Pacific Coast League’s Player of the Month for the month of May. Again, Rivera has done everything to merit a call-up. It just isn’t happening.
Was Rivera the solution to the Mets bench problems? Probably not. He was still a 27 year old undrafted minor league player. Yet, he still possessed skills that could of translated to the major leagues. He had the potential to be a contact hitter with doubles power. He could have filled in all across the diamond. There are a lot of things Rivera was capable of doing if only he got the chance. He won’t for reasons that are still unclear, and frankly, are unfair.
So yes, the Mets minor league system is worse for having lost a real prospect in Morris. It’s frustrating that he was traded away for a player that could have been re-signed by the Mets in the offseason. However, that frustration doesn’t match the frustration Rivera must be feeling now knowing that the Mets may never give him his chance despite him having earned an opportunity.
Jimmy Rollins has been a career .264/.324/.418 hitter. In the prime of his career, he was a .286/.342/.468 hitter. In 2007, he predicted the Phillies would win the NL East, and he backed it up by being the MVP that year. He was a clubhouse leader on a Phillies team that went to the postseason five straight years and won the 2008 World Series. He’s won four Gold Gloves at shortstop. Rollins has been a very good major league player. The problem is Rollins isn’t that player anymore.
Last year, Rollins hit .224/.285/.358 in 144 games with the Dodgers. There’s no sugar coating it. Rollins wasn’t good last year. It’s why the Dodgers called up Corey Seager at the end of the year, and why Rollins and Seager split time at shortstop during the NLDS. Despite his struggles, Rollins was able to latch on with the Chicago White Sox this year. In 41 games, Rollins hit .221/.295/.329. It is no wonder why for the second straight year Rollins has been pushed aside for a shortstop prospect. This year it was Tim Anderson, and this year it came much quicker. Rollins has been designated for assignment. He’s now 37 years old, and he is facing the very real prospect that his career might be over.
It might be time for the Mets to throw Rollins a lifeline.
Even with how poor Rollins is playing, he’s still a better player than what they have. With the Kelly Johnson addition, the Mets have one spot left on the bench that is going to Matt Reynolds. Even in a two year spiral, Rollins is playing better than Reynolds. Additionally, Rollins has been a proven leader on a World Series winning team. As we saw last year with Juan Uribe, you cannot add enough veteran bench pieces to a team that has World Series aspirations.
Now, one thing that is obvious is Mets fans don’t like Rollins. They don’t like anyone from those Phillies teams especially Chase Utley. With that said, Mets fans will get over it if Rollins is a positive contributor. The Mets fans had no issue with Orel Hershiser in 1999, and they had no issue with Orlando Hernandez a/k/a El Duque in 2006. There were no issues with Kelly Johnson either last year or this year. Ultimately, all Mets fans want is to win. They will cheer whoever helps them win. That includes Jimmy Rollins.
Overall, the Mets should look into adding Jimmy Rollins into the mix.
Noah Syndergaard set the tone for the night by battling through the game.
He absolutely gutted out six innings. There was a Pirate in scoring position four of the six innings. Even with Rene Rivera behind the plate, the Pirates were 4/4 in stolen base attempts. He surrendered a career high five doubles. He allowed two in the first, and when the Mets tied the game in the fourth, he gave the Pirates the lead right back. He still hung in there. He allowed seven hits, three runs, two earned, and two walks with five strikeouts. The unearned run was the result of Neil Walker‘s error in the first. It was part of a tough homecoming for Walker:
#Mets Neil Walker has two errors at PNC Park tonight.#Pirates Neil Walker never had two errors in ANY SERIES at PNC Park.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) June 9, 2016
Neil Walker has three errors in his "homecoming" series. He never even had two during any home series with the #Pirates (h/t @Tony_Eichler).
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) June 9, 2016
With the way the Mets have been going offensively lately, and with the Pirates starting phenom Jameson Taillon, Syndergaard was going to have to help himself at the plate. He did.
In the fifth, he hit a leadoff double, and Alejandro De Aza would sacrifice him over to third. Michael Conforto hit a sacrifice fly, which would tie the score at 3-3. The Mets scored their first two runs in the fourth when Ty Kelly hit his first career homerun. It was a nice parting gift for him as it appers likely he will be demoted after today’s game due to the Mets re-acquiring Kelly Johnson.
In the seventh, Jim Henderson allowed the Pirates to take a 5-3 lead with a rough inning. He allowed a leadoff walk to Andrew McCutchen. Then after Gregory Polanco just missed a homerun, he ripped a go-ahead double to right-center. He moved to third on Walker’s second error of the game, and he would score on a Josh Harrison sacrifice fly.
The Mets would battle back again. In the eighth, De Aza would get a leadoff walk, and he would score on a Conforto homerun. The Mets would then load the bases, but they would fail to get a runner home to break the 5-5 tie. Kelly would pop out to short left, and Curtis Granderson, pinch hitting for Rivera, would ground out killing the rally.
The Mets would get another chance with the bases loaded in the tenth. This time Collins pinch hit Wilmer Flores for Kelly. Flores hit a one out bloop single to give the Mets the 6-5 lead. The Mets wouldn’t score another run, but they got all they needed.
Addison Reed got the well earned win. With the Mets bullpen being a bit taxed, Collins asked him to pitch two innings. Despite a slight dip on velocity, Reed pitched two scoreless innings. It was another great outing for him in what has been an incredible year for him.
Jeurys Familia come on in the 10th and recorded his 19th straight save this year. Of course on this night, it wasn’t an easy save. Familia walked the first two batters before getting Sean Rodriguez to hit into the 6-4-3 double play. Familia walked the next batter, and Plawecki stopped the ball with his face preventing the tying run from scoring. Familia then struck out David Freese to finally end the game and the losing streak.
Overall, there was a lot to like. The Mets offense got going again. Conforto was 1-3 with a run, three RBI, a walk, and a homerun. Yoenis Cespedes went 3-5, and he scored the game winning run. The Mets snapped their nine game losing streak against the Pirates dating back to last year.
Game Notes:
Prior to tonight, the last time the Mets defeated the Pirates, Jonathon Niese was the winning pitcher. Also, Thor was still in the minors.
— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) June 9, 2016
With the Mets injuries, it’s easy to blame the lack of offense on the Mets supposed depth. It’s true. The Mets backups have been dreadful:
- Kevin Plawecki and Rene Rivera have combined to hit .194/.291/.302 since Travis d’Arnaud played his last game on April 25th.
- Eric Campbell, Wilmer Flores, and James Loney have combined to hit .197/.231/.328 since Lucas Duda played his last game on May 20th.
- Flores and Ty Kelly have combined to hit .216/.310/.243 since David Wright played his last game on May 27th
These players haven’t done their jobs, and they have hurt the Mets. However, while the Kellys and the Campbells of the world get the blame for hitting the way you reasonably anticipate them to hit, the regulars who haven’t been hitting have not faced the same scrutiny. In fact, the Mets right now have five regulars still in the lineup and four of them are just flat out not producing:
- Asdrubal Cabrera – Since April 27th, Cabrera is hitting .227/.278/.355 with only 10 extra base hits in 151 plate appearances. Over that stretch, he is striking out in 23.8% of his plate appearances.
- Michael Conforto – Since May 1st, in what is now being infamously referenced as the Madison Bumgarner Effect, Conforto has hit .160/.224/.311 while striking out in 31% of his plate appearances. He only has seven extra base hits over this stretch. Terry Collins once had concerns with him lefties. Right now, Conforto isn’t hitting anybody.
- Yoenis Cespedes – Since May 25th, Cespedes is hitting .086/.132/.114 with no homeruns while striking out 34.2% of the time. He is once again dealing with a hip issue, and he is clearly frustrated saying he is “a little lost at the plate right now.” (ESPN).
- Curtis Granderson – Since April 30th, Granderson is hitting .180/.269/.375 while striking out 28.3% of the time. His problems have been analyzed before show he’s hitting the ball on the ground more and it getting beaten by the shift. So far, Granderson is not making the necessary adjustments.
Then again, no Met is making the necessary adjustments right now. The end result is a putrid offense that is the worst offense in the major leagues. According to Baseball Tonight, since May 12th, the Mets are the last in the majors in runs per game (2.8), OBP (.282), and strikeout rate (28%). The team is also second to last in slugging (.354). These numbers would look a whole lot worse if Neil Walker wasn’t hitting.
Overall, this isn’t the July 2015 Mets that had Campbell and John Mayberry hitting in the middle of the lineup. There are legitimate hitters in this lineup who just aren’t hitting. We can all analyze who the Mets should get to be their possible long term solutions at catcher, first, and third in the event any of those injured players aren’t able to return. However, the simple truth of the matter is that unless the players currently here start hitting it’s not going to matter if the Mets make another move at the deadline.
For the second straight year, the Mets entered the season with questionable depth. The result of the questionable depth last year was the Mets were forced to raid their minor league pitching depth to build a bench and a bullpen. Overall, the Mets traded away Robert Whalen, John Gant, Casey Meisner, Michael Fulmer, Luis Cessa, Dawrin Frias, Miller Diaz, and Matt Koch. The end result was a National League Pennant and only one player under contract beyond 2015.
The Mets had the whole offseason to make sure that didn’t happen again. They didn’t. The team decided not to re-sign Kelly Johnson, and they waived Ruben Tejada. The end result was the Mets started the year with Eric Campbell on the 25 man roster. Keep in mind, the 2015 Mets which supposedly had less depth had Campbell in the minor league system.
Unfortunately, Campbell did not reward the faith the Mets placed in him. Campbell hit .159/.270/.222. The Mets were forced to move on from him. Next up was Ty Kelly, who the Mets signed to a minor league deal over the winter, and Kelly hit .111/.200/.111. Another option was Matt Reynolds, who is still up with the team, who is currently hitting .167/.231/.167. By the way, the Mets have now made it readily apparent they are not going to give T.J. Rivera a shot. Long story short there are kiddie pools with more depth than what the 2016 Mets had this season. Accordingly, the Mets were in a position where they were forced to make a move to improve their depth.
Today, the Mets traded away Akeel Morris for Kelly Johnson. This is the same Kelly Johnson the Mets thought Eric Campbell was better than in the offseason. This is the same Kelly Johnson who is currently hitting .215/.273/.289 this year.
Again, the Mets could have signed him in the offseason and not forfeited a prospect in return. Either the Mets thought Campbell was a better player and were wrong, or they made a money decision. There is roughly a $1.5 million difference between Campbell’s and Johnson’s salaries, and the Mets did release Tejada before the season in an effort to save money. Keep in mind, the Mets not only obtained Campbell in the deal, but as per Jon Heyman, the Mets also received some money in the deal as well. Because of the Mets penny wise pound foolish decisions, the Mets once again had to dip into their minor league system to address their poor depth.
This time the cost was Akeel Morris. Last year, Morris was terrific in his 23 appearance in AA. He went 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. This year, for the first time in his major league career, he is struggling. In his 22 appearances, he is 2-2 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.382 WHIP. Lost in those stats is Morris’ stuff. He can get his fastball up to 95, and he has a good changeup. With his ability to strike people out, he could have been a late inning reliever. With the development of another pitch, like the Warthen slider, he would be. If he does reach his potential, it will be with another organization as the Mets decided they desperately needed someone who is hitting worse than Kevin Plawecki this year.
Regardless of his struggles, Johnson is an upgrade over what the Mets have been playing lately. Johnson may also benefit from returning to a team where he played well last year. If Johnson does play well, it’ll be a reminder the Mets should not have let him sign elsewhere in the offseason. It will be a reminder that the mistake the Mets made a mistake in thinking Campbell was the best choice for the bench. Ultimately, the cost of that mistake is the career of Akeel Morris.
The narrative going into the game was Noah Syndergaard‘s golf trip would have a negative impact on his start. It seemed to be the case when Syndergaard allowed a first inning solo homerun to Marcell Ozuna.
Instead of struggling from that point forward, Syndergaard did what he’s done all year. He dominated. Syndergaard pitched seven innings allowing six hits, two earned, and one walk with nine strikeouts. All Syndergaard needed was some run support.
Fortunately for Syndergaard, the Mets provided him with more than one run of support. That was the main difference between this game and Jacob deGrom‘s start on Wednesday. The main reason was Wilmer Flores started at third instead of Ty Kelly. In the fourth, Flores broke a 1-1 tie by getting a two out broken bat bloop RBI single scoring Yoenis Cespedes.
Unfortunately, Syndergaard would relinquish the lead in the sixth. The rally was built upon a Christian Yelich double to shortstop. Yes, shortstop. Asdrubal Cabrera, who hit a fourth inning homerun, dove and got a piece of the ball. It was just enough to slow it down so Yelich could get to second and Martin Prado could go to third. Prado would subsequently score on a Ozuna’s sacrifice fly. The Mets would need Flores to get things started again. He did.
In the seventh, Flores got a rally started by drawing a leadoff walk in the seventh. The Marlins then pulled starter Tom Koehler and brought in the lefty, Mike Dunn, to face James Loney. Loney made the Marlins pay by hitting the first pitch he saw for a homerun. It was Loney’s first homerun for the Mets and his 100th career homerun. The homerun broke a 2-2 tie.
Just for good measure, Flores got another rally started with a leadoff double in the ninth. He moved to third on a long fly ball from Loney to center. He JUST MISSED another homerun. Rene Rivera, on the other hand, didn’t. He hit an absolute bomb to left center giving the Mets a 6-2 lead. It gave the Mets a big enough lead to let them relax after losing two straight games in which they had a lead in what were tight scoring games.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth because that’s what he does. The four run lead allowed Jim Henderson to pitch a scoreless ninth thereby allowing Jeurys Familia a night off.
This was a great game for the Mets and Flores in particular. He finished the night 2-3 with two runs, one RBI, one walk, and one double. With David Wright‘s most recent injury, the Mets need Flores to step up and take over third base. He did that tonight. If he continues playing like this the Mets will be able to weather not just this storm, but also anything else that comes their way in 2016.
Game Notes: The struggling Michael Conforto was dropped from third to sixth in the lineup. He was 0-4 with two strikeouts dropping his average to .246.
Last year when David Wright went on the disabled list with a serious injury, the Mets moved Daniel Murphy to third base and recalled Dilson Herrera to play second base. This year? This year, we get Neil Walker at second with a revolving door of AAAA caliber players at third base.
Now, it should be noted that Walker has been far better than anyone could’ve imagined. With his hitting .283/.345/.522 line with 13 homeruns, he’s in the midst of a career year. He’s been everything the Mets couldn’t asked for and more. With that said, he isn’t a versatile player. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets have reservations about moving Walker to an unfamiliar position.
This means Walker will remain at second while Herrera remains in the minors. That’s a problem.
Dilson Herrera is a superior player to Ty Kelly, Eric Campbell, and Matt Reynolds. He’s better than T.J. Rivera, who, for reasons unknown, is still not getting a shot. With his play this year, it’s fair to say Herrera is a superior option to Wilmer Flores. However, it doesn’t matter that Herrera is better than the four other options that have been and will continue to get playing time at third base. It doesn’t matter because there’s no room for Herrera to play second every day.
Herrera would be the second baseman right now if Murphy was here. It’s further evidence of how the Mets made a mistake by letting Murphy walk out the door. Better yet, Murphy’s in Washington helping a Nationals team that has a three game lead over the Mets in the NL East.
Walker’s been great player this year, but he’s still not a better fit for this Mets team than Murphy would’ve been. The reason is simple: No matter how good Walker plays this year, it won’t be worth having one of Flores, Reynolds, Kelly, or Campbell play third for long stretches of time.
One thing I’m shocked by is the amount of people who don’t want to take a flyer on a reunion with Ruben Tejada.
Here’s what we know to be true about Tejada:
- He’s not a great defender at second, third, or short;
- He doesn’t hit for power; and
- He’s much better than Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, and Matt Reynolds
The third point is the key. If a team has an opportunity to improve its roster, isn’t it incumbent upon them to get better? Remember, the Mets have an obligation to the team and the fans to put the best possible team on the field that they can. So long as they’re letting Reynolds, Kelly, or Campbell player over an available Tejada, they’re not doing that.
No, Tejada doesn’t solve the third base issue. Ideally, you don’t want him playing everyday. However, in that same ideal world, Ty Kelly isn’t playing third yesterday and grounding into two rally killing double plays.
Right now, the Mets need a lot more than Tejada. They need Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda, and David Wright. In the event they aren’t coming back anytime soon, and that seems like a possibility more and more each passing day, the Mets need to find real long term replacements. Unfortunately, these replacements are not on the roster.
The issue is the trade market for these players may just now be developing. The teams in possession of those assets may be holding on to them for a little longer to try to get more teams involved in the bidding to try to drive the price up. Theoretically, this means the Mets may not be able to get anyone for another month or so. While the Mets wait, they’re stuck with the Kellys, the Reynolds, and the Campbells of the world.
Why do we need to watch Campbell hit .159, Reynolds hit .100, and Kelly hit .118 when Tejada is available for nothing? Is there really anyone that really believes Tejada’s career .254/.328/.322 slash line isn’t better than what the Mets are currently sending out there on a daily basis? The answer should be a resounding “NO!”
Tejada is an improvement, and he’s more than just an incremental improvement. He’s also an improvement that can be in place tomorrow. He’s not the final solution. He’s a stop gap. His contract is up at the end of the year, and you only owe him a prorated portion of a $1.5 million contract. Tejada won’t stand in the way of another move.
In the end, Tejada is not THE solution. He’s just much better than Kelly, Reynolds, or Campbell. Tejada gives you the ability to put a much better player out there than what the Mets currently are putting out there until such time as the injured Mets get healthy or you make a move for a better player. Just because the Mets need someone better than Tejada, it doesn’t mean you should continue to trot out much weaker players like Reynolds, Campbell, or Kelly in the interim.
No, the Mets need better players than Kelly, Reynolds, and Campbell. Tejada is better than them. He should be claimed off waivers and play until such time that the Mets get a player better than him.
If you don’t want Tejada, you’re saying Reynolds, Campbell, and Kelly are better players. Unfortunately, there’s noting to justify that opinion other than a sheer dislike of Tejada.