Yoenis Cespedes
Since MLB has not adopted my All Star Game changes, here is my National League ballot:
C – Buster Posey
It’s the narrowest of margins between between Posey and Jonathan Lucroy. Posey gets the vote as he has a 0.1 WAR advantage over Lucroy, and he’s the best pitch framer in the game this year.
1B – Paul Goldschmidt
Yet again, Goldschmidt is the best first baseman in the NL if not all of baseball. Consideration should be given to Anthony Rizzo, but in reality, Goldschmidt is a better player.
2B – Daniel Murphy
Second base is very deep in the NL with Murphy, Ben Zobrist, Neil Walker, etc. Ultimately, the tie breaker is Murphy because he leads second basemen in batting average and slugging. He’s also been a difference maker for a Nationals team in first place.
3B – Nolan Arenado
Easiest choice on the ballot. He’s the best fielding and hitting third basemen in the NL.
SS – Corey Seager
The NL Rookie of the Year favorite leads all shortstops in WAR and is second in homers to fellow rookie Trevor Story. It’s Seager over Story as Seager has been the much better all around and consistent player.
OF – Yoenis Cespedes
Last year when Cespedes joined the Mets, he went on an absolute tear that helped the Mets turn things around. He’s been just as good this year with less help.
OF – Christian Yelich
The Marlins were supposed to have the best and most exciting young outfielder in the National League in Giancarlo Stanton. They do, but it’s Yelich.
OF – Starling Marte
Like the Marlins, the Pirates could reasonably expect one of their outfielders to start the All Star Game. Like the Marlins, it’s a different player. You would’ve expected the former MVP Andrew McCutchen to be the guy. However, Marte is their best outfielder. In fact, as per WAR, he’s the best outfielder in the NL.
Here is my American League Ballot:
C – Salvador Perez
He leads American League catchers in most offensive categories, and he is one of the best catchers that would actually qualify as a batting title.
1B – Chris Davis
For the most part, this has been a down year for most of the American League’s first basemen. Miguel Cabrera has been playing well of late while Joe Mauer has tapered off after a good start. The most consistent has been Davis, who leads first baseman in homers, RBI, and WAR. He’s a large reason why the Baltimore Orioles are surprisingly in first place . . . again.
2B – Jose Altuve
He has been the best player in the American League in the first half. He’s in the MVP discussion. He’s the easy selection in either league despite Robinson Cano’s resurgence.
3B – Josh Donaldson
The reigning American League MVP has followed-up with a similarly great season for the Blue Jays. He is yet again the best third baseman in the American League.
SS – Francisco Lindor
He has been a driving force for the first place Cleveland Indians with his glove and his bat. Due consideration should be given to Manny Machado. However, Machado has split time between short and third, and he began the year as a shortstop.
OF – Mike Trout
Trout is still the best outfielder in the American League as he has been for the past 5+ seasons. By the way, he is only 24 years old.
OF – Jackie Bradley, Jr.
Bradley’s defense has always been a given. Now, with a .294/.384/.558 batting line, it appears his bat has caught up with his glove making him one of the best all around outfielders in baseball.
OF – Ian Desmond
The guy no one wanted as a shortstop in the offseason has become a versatile outfielder playing well in both left and right. More importantly, his potent bat has returned. He’s been the best player for what has been the best team in the American League so far.
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.
To put it as succinctly as possible, Alejandro De Aza has not been a good baseball player this year. He rarely plays, and when he does play, he has only served as a detriment. In 52 games, he has hit .169/.221/.247 with a 28 OPS+. To put it in perspective, everyone’s least favorite Met, Eric Campbell, is hitting .159/.270/.222 with a 37 OPS+. When you are incapable of outplaying Campbell, who is currently playing in AAA, you must question what purpose it serves having De Aza on the major league roster.
Initially, Terry Collins wanted De Aza to suceed. It was less than a month ago that Collins said he wanted to get De Aza more playing time so he could get going and put up the numbers he once did. Collins stayed true to his word as De Aza has played more in June than any other month. De Aza has played in a season high 20 games and received a season high 42 plate appearances. He has rewarded Collins by having his worst month of the season hitting .128/.171/.205. Slowly, Collins realized that whatever the reason, this wasn’t working out, and he began to look elsewhere for outfield options in the wake of Juan Lagares on the disabled list and Yoenis Cespedes being a bit nicked up. It has gotten to the point where Collins put Matt Reynolds in left for a game despite Reynolds never having played a game in the outfield as a professional.
Still, De Aza got some starts and at bats as he was the only completely healthy center fielder on the roster. However, at this point, Collins may have had enough of De Aza.
On Satuday, the Mets were locked in a scoreless game in the top of the tenth. De Aza was sent up there to bunt Wilmer Flores over to second base in the hopes that the Mets could FINALLY push a run across the plate. De Aza then popped the bunt in the air and made zero effort to get to first. This led to Braves’ pitcher Jim Johnson astutely letting it drop and completing the double play. Collins was incensed and laid into De Aza. After the game, he said, “I’ve seen [De Aza] play, and the one thing he is known for is how hard he plays. But it goes to show you — everybody gets frustrated when they don’t do the job.” (New York Post). It seems that Collins had finally had enough.
Yesterday, Collins decided to put rookie Brandon Nimmo in right field, a position he has only played 32 times in six minor league seasons and Kelly Johnson in left field. After Saturday, it is no surprise that De Aza was on the bench. In fact, the only surprise would have been if De Aza received any consideration to start.
What is even more surprising is De Aza’s presence on the major league roster. We can all agree De Aza is a much better player he has shown on the Mets, but so did John Mayberry last year. For whatever reason, it hasn’t worked for either player during their time with the Mets. The Mets were wise to cut bait with Mayberry last year, and they should do the same with De Aza this year. In his stead, the Mets have a few good options in the minors that could easily replicate, if not improve, what De Aza has given the Mets this year.
First, there is Travis Taijeron. He is currently hitting .306/.392/.568 in AAA right now. He has shown powers at each level he plays, and he should be able to hit for some power in the big leagues. He is a good defensive corner outfielder that may not be able to handle center that well. However, with Nimmo on the roster, finding a backup center fielder is not as big a priority right now.
If the Mets wanted to go with a true back up center fielder and a player with big league experience, they could go with Roger Bernadina. Bernadina has played a steady center field over his major league career. Over his last three major league seasons, he averaged a -0.2 UZR and a 0.7 DRS in center fielder. These are unspectacular numbers, but it goes to show you he will not hurt the Mets if he is needed to play center field.
At the plate, he is a .236/.307/.354 major league hitter. However, Bernadina played in the minor leagues all of last year. Given what De Aza has done this year you’d be hard pressed to say Bernadina’s career numbers wouldn’t be an improvement. In AAA, he has hit .298/.384/.466, which coincidentally, is very similar to the .276/.383/.466 he put up in the Pacific Coast League last year. At a minimum, you can say that Bernadina is not a player in decline like Mayberry was last year and De Aza seems to be this year.
Given the Mets current World Series aspirations, they can ill afford to wait for De Aza especially since he looks dejected out there. He is forcing the Mets hands to make a move similar to how the Mets made a move on Mayberry last year. With Taijeron and Bernadina in the minors, the Mets can and should release De Aza and call-up a player who promises to put up better production.
This was a bizarre day even for the Mets. The Mets sent down Michael Conforto and calling-up Brandon Nimmo. Jose Reyes was brought back despite the domestic violence incident. With all of that going on, the Mets still had a game to play.
Jacob deGrom was shaky early on needing a few double plays to get out of a couple of innings unscathed. Overall, he pitched well against a bad Braves team. His final like was eight innings, seven hits, no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. However, he did not get the win as the Mets offense failed him.
There was a threat in the third when Yoenis Cespedes tried to stretch a single into a double. He was easily out at second when he refused to slide. Instead of second and third with one it, Curtis Granderson stood alone on the basepaths with two outs. A Neil Walker pop out would put an end to the Mets only real threat against Braves’ starter Julio Teheran.
Teheran matched deGrom zero for zero. He too lasted eight innings. He only allowed five hits, no runs, and no walks with seven strikeouts. You could call it a pitcher’s duel between two talented pitchers. You could also call it an contest in ineptitude between two dreadful offenses.
The Braves chance for a walk-off win was stymied in the ninth when Granderson made a sliding catch in foul territory to end the inning and send the game into extras.
The Mets finally broke through in the eleventh when ex-Brave Kelly Johnson hit a homer off ex-Met Dario Alvarez to put the Mets up 1-0. All that was needed was for Jeurys Familia to shut the door and recorded his 26th straight save to open the season. Given the Mets luck and Familia pitching more than one inning thd night before, it didn’t promise to be easy. It wasn’t.
The Braves had a runner on second with one out and Freddie Freeman coming to the plate. At that point, Terry Collins made something readily apparent. He watches Mets games as closely as Mets fans do. He knows Freeman kills the Mets like other Braves’ Mets killers in the past like Chipper Jones (sorry Larry), Brian Jordan, etc. With that in mind, Collins ordered Famila to intentionally walk Freeman.
It was a smart play as it prevented Freemam from killing the Mets again. It was a smart play as it set up the double play. When Nick Markakis hit the comebacker, the Mets got end the game by turning the double play. The 1-6-3 double play was the Mets third of the night.
With all the emotion from today and drama that followed the Mets around most of this year, it is easy to forget the Mets are only two games back in the division and one in the loss column. The Mets will try to get closer tomorrow.
Game Notes: In honor of the Negro Leagues, the Mets wore Brooklyn Royal Giants gear. As Nimmo didn’t get to Atlanta in time, the Mets started Alejandro De Aza, who was 0-4 with a strikeout. Travis d’Arnaud threw out another would be base stealer.
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.
Upon hearing the news that Yoenis Cespedes will not have to go on the disabled list with his sprained wrist, everyone from Terry Collins to Mr. Met to each and every Mets fan breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as everyone realizes that Cespedes is day-to-day and Alejandro De Aza will get more playing time, the trepidation may return even after yesterday’s well played game.
Given that prospect, it might be time to call-up Brandon Nimmo up to the majors now to play center until Cespedes is ready to resume playing everyday.
Nimmo has certainly earned the promotion. He has gotten progressively better as the season as progressed. Here are his monthly splits:
- April .260/.333/.315
- May .326/.421/.565
- June .388/.455/.642
Over his last 46 games, Nimmo is hitting .370/.453/.603 with 14 doubles, seven triples, five homers, and 34 RBI. Nimmo’s production is quickly moving from short sample size to true talent level. No matter the case, he’s playing extraordinarily well. This is the precise point you want to bring a player to the majors.
Furthermore, Nimmo helps the Mets in a lot of ways. On a station-to-station team, he’s a top of the order hitter that had the speed to take the extra base. He’s also a good defensive center fielder, which would permit Cespedes to play left field, his Gold Glove position, when he’s capable of returning to the line-up on a full time basis.
There’s just one problem with this line of thinking. It discounts Michael Conforto. This is the same Conforto that was a vital part of the Mets offense not only last year, but this year as well. This is the same Conforto that has risen to each and every challenge before him.
This is also the same Conforto who has hit .153/.213/.314 in the 42 games he has played since May 1st. Over the past week, he’s 1-14. He’s 4-44 against lefties this year. There are many reasons why he could be hitting this poorly from his injured wrist to his approach at the plate. Whatever the cause, he’s not figuring it out in the majors right now, and he’s hurting the team in the process. The Mets need to do what is best for him and the team by sending him down to AAA. He can correct his approach there and gain some confidence while batting in the hitter’s haven that is the Pacific Coast League.
In the interim, Nimmo gets his well earned shot. Terry Collins can figure out left field until Cespedes is ready. With his recent play and especially yesterday’s game, it may not hurt to give Matt Reynolds some more games in left field. At least for right now, that is what will be best for the Mets.
It will also benefit the Mets in the future. Nimmo and Conforto are a big part of the Mets future. Conforto needs to get himself straight at the plate, and eventually, Nimmo has to be thrown into the deep end to see if he can swim. Both can happen now, and both players could be better for it. It’s time to send down Conforto and call-up Nimmo.
Editor’s Note: this article was first published on metsminors.net
The Mets were scratching and clawing their way to beat the worst team in baseball after last weekend’s humiliation at the hands of the Braves.
They actually got production from Alejandro De Aza, who had to start in place of the injured Yoenis Cespedes. He would go 2-4 with an RBI double while playing a good center field.
Matt Harvey had a decent start allowing eight hits, two earned, and no walks with three strikeouts over six innings. His night would’ve gone a lot better had he not faced A.J. Pierzynski, who is proving to be the anti-Bryce Harper. Whereas Harper can’t buy a hit off Harvey, Pierzynski is 8-12 against Harvey including his 2-3 two RBI performance off Harvey tonight.
Neil Walker was 2-2 with a walk, sac fly and two RBI.
Michael Conforto had not one . . .
Reckless Abandon, @mconforto8.
He even left the wall a parting gift. pic.twitter.com/v4x7S6Orbx— New York Mets (@Mets) June 24, 2016
. . . but two great defensive plays:
Michael Conforto getting it done with the glove and the arm today #Mets pic.twitter.com/ivKlB1YMzJ
— Dan Lagnado (@dlag1995) June 24, 2016
Travis d’Arnaud made that amazing block of home plate and was able to throw out a base stealer.
None of it mattered as Addison Reed threw an 0-2 fastball over the heart of the plate to Adonis Garcia who hit an opposite field home run to give the Braves a 4-3 lead.
Not having Cespedes is not an excuse. The Braves are that bad even with them winning seven of their last eight. Like all three games last weekend, this was an inexcusable loss. The Mets have now lost four in a row to a Braves team they should not have lost four games in total to this year.
Seriously, Alejandro De Aza is not as bad a player as he has seemed in his limited time with the Mets. Up until this season, De Aza was a .267/.337/.405 hitter with a 101 career OPS+. Essentially, he was an average major league baseball player. You don’t necessarily want that in your starting lineup day in and day out the way it once appeared he was going to be. However, a player like that could be a vital and important piece for your bench.
Unfortunately, it has not turned out that way.
It is quite possible this all started when the Mets signed Yoenis Cespedes in the offseason. At the time the Mets signed De Aza two things were fairly evident: (1) the Mets didn’t have the stomach or money to give Cespedes a contract like the one he was expected to receive in free agency; and (2) he was going to be part of a center field platoon with Juan Lagares. As it turns out, the Mets got very lucky. No one really offered Cespedes a fair market value free agent contract allowing him to return to the Mets for what was effectively a one-year deal. By extension the Mets seemed to be extremely deep in the outfield as their fourth and fifth outfielders, De Aza and Lagares, were major league quality everyday players in some capacity. It was great on paper. However, De Aza has clearly suffered from the lack of playing time – playing time he reasonably expected when he signed with the Mets as a free agent.
So far this year, De Aza is only hitting .165/.224/.241 with a 27 OPS+. He has gone hitless in his last 20 at bats. In his limited starts (13 games), he is hitting .128/.180/.213. Keep in mind those stats are inflated due to a 3-4 game he had in a start against the Indians in May. Other than that De Aza has been flat out terrible. Things have gotten so bad for him that Terry Collins is starting Matt Reynolds over him in games, and Reynolds had never played a game in the outfield as a professional. His stats are in Ty Kelly and Eric Campbell territory, and as we’ve seen with him, he’s a much better player than either of these players. Overall, it is fair to say that De Aza has been affected by the lack of playing time.
As it turns out, De Aza might get a chance to leave an impression on the Mets and turn his season around. Yesterday, Cespedes had to leave the game with what turned out to be a sprained wrist. Right now, Cespedes is day-to-day, and in reality, De Aza is the only person on the roster right now who can play center field on a regular basis. As a result, Collins has no choice but to put De Aza in the lineup until Cespedes is ready to return to the lineup. As fortune would have it, the Mets are about to begin a four game series against the Atlanta Braves, who despite sweeping the Mets last weekend, are the absolute worst team in baseball. There really is no excuse for De Aza not to seize this opportunity and start playing better.
Right now, there are some offensive issues overall with the Mets. One of them is bench production, and De Aza is a large part of that. Hopefully, De Aza is able to use these starts to turn his season around and help improve the Mets bench. Both the Mets and De Aza need him to have a big weekend.