Yoenis Cespedes
With the news of Michael Conforto straining his oblique, he will likely miss Opening Day, and it is possible he will miss approximately a month. That is a month to figure out what is the best way to manage his absence. That is a problem all the more problematic given how the Mets only have two outfielders who are everyday caliber with Conforto being one of them.
There are a number of potential solutions, each of which are fraught with with their own problems.
The Mets could go with J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith in the corners. However, with their OAA and sprint speed that is not a viable defensive solution. They could also go with Jake Marisnick in center, but he was a well below average hitter and among the worst hitters at his position even when he knew what pitch was coming.
The Mets could better mix and match in the outfield if they could put Jeff McNeil back in a corner outfield position. As we saw last year, he was a good defender out there, and as we saw, he was an All-Star in left last year. However, in order for that to happen, the Mets need to have a replacement for him at third as McNeil is slated to be the everyday third baseman.
On that note, Eduardo Nunez is having a good Spring Training, and according to reports, he feels the healthiest he has in years. As reported by Tim Britton of The Athletic, Nunez took time off to heal as he said, “Last year, I couldn’t even play defense, I couldn’t hustle, I couldn’t steal any base, I couldn’t hit for power, so it was really tough.”
If he’s completely healthy, which Nunez asserts wasn’t the case in Boston, he appears to be on track to making the Opening Day roster. More than that, he could insert himself into the everyday lineup with Conforto’s injury.
In his 10 year career, despite his speed, Nunez has never been a good defender. In fact, he is a negative defender at every infield position. That said, his best infield position is third base. That’s not exactly inspiring with him having a -22 DRS there in his career. However, notably, he amassed a -12 DRS in his two years with the Red Sox.
Prior to the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Nunez had not been all that bad at third. After posting a -4 DRS in 2014, he had a -3 DRS over the ensuing three seasons with two of them being at a 0 DRS or better. It should be noted his OAA numbers were not all the positive with a -6 in 2017, 0 in 2018, and -3 in 2019.
All told, he is just not good at third. However, what he appears to be is playable there over a shorter duration. Of course, the question is whether it is worth playing him there. On the surface, the answer is probably not. In his two years with Boston, Nunez’s wRC+ was 70, which is worse than Marisnick.
Of course, that number was dragged down by Nunez’s woeful 2019 season. Looking back to the three seasons prior to Nunez’s Boston years, he had a 106 OPS+ making him slightly above league-average. Slightly above league average with the bat and below league average as a fielder isn’t a bad mix for a solid utility player.
However, for an everyday player it is less than ideal. In fact, it is not a recipe for success. Ultimately, this means Nunez shouldn’t be the solution for Conforto in his absence. That would then mean McNeil stays at third, and the Mets are left with either a center fielder who can’t hit or a pair of first baseman in the corners.
Right now, if the Mets don’t make a move, they are going to need Yoenis Cespedes to make unexpected progress, or they are going to need Luis Rojas to show deft touch in mixing a matching his lineup. That is not an enviable position to be in, but that’s where the Mets stand due to their not addressing their outfield depth this past offseason.
The New York Mets initial plan for the 2020 season was to have just two everyday outfielders in Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo. That’s it.
The plan was to fill-in here and there with some combination of J.D. Davis, Jake Marisnick, Dominic Smith, and maybe Jeff McNeil. As for McNeil, he’s slated as the everyday third baseman making his filling-in as an outfielder a rob Peter to pay Paul situation.
In sum, the Mets are very shallow in the outfield. The situation worsens when you consider there isn’t any real Triple-A depth. That makes hoping Yoenis Cespedes can return into NEEDING Cespedes to return.
Seeing Troy Tulowitzki‘s inability to return from the same surgery, that’s not an enviable position. That goes double when you consider Tulowitzki didn’t suffer a broken ankle during rehab like Cespedes did.
All told, the Mets cannot sustain an injury to either Conforto or Nimmo because that leaves them with two outfielders who should not be playing everyday in the outfield.
Already this Spring, Nimmo has had a heart scare, and now, Conforto is being evaluated for an oblique injury. Throw in Davis’ shoulder, and the Mets shallow outfield depth is already being tested.
This should be a reminder Yasiel Puig is still a free agent, and as explained earlier, he’s a perfect fit for this Mets team. That becomes increasingly more obvious with every injury scare.
The Mets supposedly have designs in winning the 2020 World Series, and their purported plan is to have depth across the board. That only works if you have depth, which the Mets don’t have in the outfield.
Sooner or later, the Mets are going to need Puig. The longer they wait to sign him the more they run the risk of his not being there when they become truly desperate.
It’s time to stop messing around and pretending like two everyday outfielders are sufficient. It’s time to sign Puig.
When we discuss player’s health and injuries, fans always want to know, and the media has a duty to report the things they know to the public. Of course, in the case of Matt Harvey, the media and fans can become aware of health information and act juvenile.
Seeing that reaction, and seeing the procedure didn’t prevent him from starting on Opening Day against the Royals, you go back to whether we should know about a player’s health issues, especially those which do not keep a player off the field.
This issue was brought back to the forefront with Brandon Nimmo‘s heart scare. Actually, we don’t know if it was or was not a heart scare. However, that is where some people’s minds went when they saw the reports Nimmo was undergoing a precautionary screening for reasons unknown or unspecified by the manager Luis Rojas.
No one really had an idea what was the reason for the tests, and many Mets fans were worried about the fan favorite. We didn’t know if this was a serious issue leading to a future J.R. Richard situation, or if this was a complete non-issue. It wouldn’t be until his wife said there was really no issue for fans to have any sort of relief.
https://twitter.com/chelseajnimmo/status/1233138341006258176?s=20
As we would later find out directly from Nimmo, himself, he has a larger heart and an irregular heartbeat. This led to him joking he has a larger heart because he has “a lot of love to give.” Gallow’s humor aside, we’re all fortunate Nimmo is alright, and he is healthy enough to play baseball in 2020.
Seeing that he is healthy enough to play, and his heart condition doesn’t interfere with his ability to play, you do have to question why the Mets made a player’s personal health issues available for public consumption. Do we really have the right to know about things personal to Nimmo when it has no impact on his play on the field or his ability to even play? Shouldn’t some things be left private.
Digging deeper, they kept the issues with Yoenis Cespedes‘ heels secret for years. Why did the Mets feel we needed to know about Nimmo’s heart issue which may or may not have kept him off the field, but we didn’t need to know about Cespedes’ heels which was impacting his ability to hustle and stay healthy, and more to the point would eventually require him to undergo major surgery?
In the end, all that matters is Nimmo is alright. His health is the number one priority. Looking past that, we really need to reassess whether information like this NEEDS to be made public and why the Mets choose to make information like this public while keeping other information a secret.
On February 21, 2019, Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters the MRI on Jed Lowrie‘s knee revealed “no significant damage.” The following day, Lowrie’s injury was described as nothing more than “soreness behind his left knee,” and ultimately, the team gave no estimates for when Lowrie could return to play.
As we know that no significant damage would eventually be classified as a capsule strain. That capsule strain became the Mets know really knowing what was wrong with Lowrie, and by all accounts, the Mets still do not know what is wrong with Lowrie.
All we know at this point is he was limited to just eight pinch hitting attempts in 2019, and he showed up to Spring Training this year wearing a very large brace on his left leg. Realistically speaking, no one knows what, if anything, Lowrie can contribute in 2019. Really, no one knows if Lowrie will ever be able to play again.
Almost a year later, J.D.Yoe Davis dives for a ball at third, is taken out of the game, and he undergoes an MRI. When announcing the results of the MRI, Brodie Van Wagenen announced there was inflammation, a pre-existing labrum tear, and that they need to reassess Davis in a week.
J.D. Davis' MRI didn't reveal any new structural damage and will begin rehabbing today, according to Brodie Van Wagenen pic.twitter.com/lbqkVEHEgq
— SNY (@SNYtv) February 26, 2020
While some circles will paint that as good news, it is hard to calculate it as such, especially with what we knew heading into Van Wagenen’s statements. First and foremost, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported Tigers team doctors examined Davis and determined “there wasn’t labrum or rotator cuff damage.”
Davis, himself, was unaware he had an existing torn labrum. The Tigers doctors, without the benefit of an MRI, were unaware of it. In very short order, this went from nothing to a pre-existing injury, inflammation, unable to do baseball activities in a week, beginning rehab, and re-evaluation of the injury in a week or so.
However, Van Wagenen wants us to now believe the Mets were well aware of the injury, and that now, it is not going to be an issue.
While it is very possible that is the case, there is a certain element of Yoenis Cespedes to this. Supposedly, the Mets were always aware he had double heel issues, and yet, they initially expressed disbelief he would need the surgery before finally acquiescing.
No one is going to say Davis needs surgery. By the same token, no one is going to say Davis will be a complete non-factor in 202o like Lowrie and Cespedes were in 2019. However, what we have seen with Lowrie, Cespedes, and even David Wright (spinal stenosis initially ruled mild right hamstring strain), the Mets have a very poor history initially diagnosing significant injuries and setting forth a plan to get the players on the field.
The initial news for Davis isn’t as dire as many feared when he first went down and needed an MRI. There is hope he can come back in a week and be ready to resume baseball activities. However, with this being the Mets, no one should take anything out of this other than we won’t know if Davis can play until we see him active and playing in Queens.
We haven’t completed the first week of Spring Training games, and suddenly, the Mets are moving towards being put in a position where they will need to find their Opening Day left fielder. Arguably, we are not yet at that day, but from the looks of it, that day of reckoning may soon come.
Yoenis Cespedes has been rehabbing from his double heel surgery, and according to indications, he is doing roughly 85% of what the other Mets players are doing. Cespedes has been pushing hard, but no one quite knows if he is going to be able to be ready for Opening Day, and if he is, no one knows if he can play everyday.
To some, Cespedes was seen as a luxury because the Mets had other options in the outfield. Depending on how things shake out, that may no longer be true.
J.D. Davis dove for a ball at third, and he is being at least temporarily shut down. He has a “pre-existing” labrum tear and inflammation. Davis says he will be ready for Opening Day, but we heard the same refrains from Jed Lowrie last year, and when we look at history, the Mets have a terrible history diagnosing and handling injuries.
Brandon Nimmo, who was supposed to be ready to go for Opening Day, is now dealing with a cardiac issues. He is undergoing cardiac screening, and at this point, we don’t know what the exact issue is, and really, we don’t know how this issue (to the extent there is one) will limit him.
Right there, the Mets are potentially down three outfield options. That leaves Jake Marisnick, who was a below average hitter even when he knew what pitch was coming, and Dominic Smith, who suffered a stress fracture playing the outfield last year. Keep in mind, where the Mets stand right now, they are in a position to play Marisnick and Smith everyday with their backup outfielder being Jeff McNeil, who is also their everyday third baseman.
The question is what then happens when or if either Marisnick or Smith go down? There just isn’t the depth in Triple-A to sustain an injury. When you look at it, the Mets are getting increasingly shallow in the outfield, and that is before the season even begins.
Fortunately for them, Yasiel Puig is still a free agent, a player the Mets arguably should have already signed this offseason.
With Puig, the Mets are getting a good fielder, who even at his worst, is a league average bat. No, Puig is not the superstar many thought he’d be when he debuted with the Dodgers. Rather, he is a solid, good, durable, and reliable everyday Major League outfielder. Put another way, he is exactly what the Mets don’t have.
Now, it is possible Cespedes will be ready by Opening Day. Davis’ shoulder and Nimmo’s heart may not keep them out of the Opening Day lineup. Marisnick could have a career year, and after a full offseason, Smith could be ready to play everyday in the outfield. Still, that is a lot of question marks, and it is unwise to hinge your season on all of that breaking in the Mets favor.
Seeing that is the case, the Mets should be acting quickly to sign Puig. If nothing else, they’ll put themselves in a position to have too many player for too few spots. That’s a much better problem to have than not having Major League caliber players to play the outfield because the Mets waited too long to act and some other team signed Puig at the precise moment they needed him most.
When Yoenis Cespedes injured himself on his ranch, there was wild speculation as to what he was doing. Despite a complete lack of evidence on this point, it was assumed this was the result of foul play. Some speculated it was him riding a horse or something else. Overall, the assumption is Cespedes was not being forthright with what happened.
In actuality, Cespedes was quite forthright.
When the New York Post finally broke the story of what led to Cespedes’ breaking his ankle, it was reported “Cespedes reported the injury to the Mets, including immediately that he was trying to sidestep a boar.” The report went on to indicate that not only did the Mets believe his account to be true, but that the Commissioner’s Office and Players’ Association also confirmed this account.
In essence, while Cespedes was being painted by a broad brush about deceit and people questioning his willingness to be a baseball player, to his detriment, Cespedes was an honest person. In fact, Cespedes was honest when it mattered most – when no one was looking and at a time when it could cost him money.
Put another way, Cespedes showed integrity. It’s actually ironic his integrity was questioned during the time frame between his injury and the details of how he was injured was revealed. The people who question how much he really wanted to play baseball and accused him of just wanting to cash checks overlook how he homered against the Yankees when he desperately needed double heel surgery and how he is up at 5 AM everyday to work on being ready for Opening Day.
Through it all, Cespedes has shown he will doing anything to play baseball. That includes how he defected from Cuba. That defection included ” included four countries, six boat rides, two trips to jail, an immigration raid, accusations of human trafficking and a dispute with a Dominican baseball agent.”
Knowing his story, no one should ever question how much Cespedes wants to play baseball of his integrity. It’s an unfair and unfounded criticism. We also see it’s a complete double standard.
The Athletic just broke a story revealing postseason legend Madison Bumgarner has been competing in rodoes under the pseudonym of Mason Saunders. This is notable because Bumgarner hurt his left shoulder in 2017 in what he described as a dirt bike accident.
That accident effectively helped cost the San Francisco Giants any opportunity to return to the postseason. Moreover, it really was the the final nail in the coffin in the Giants run as World Series contenders.
Knowing what we know now, maybe we should be questioning how Bumgarner’s 2017 injury really happened. Moreover, maybe we should be questioning just how much Bumgarner actually wants to play baseball. After all, this is the same pitcher who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for less money to stay closer to his farm and his horses in Arizona.
Whereas people were up in arms over the unfounded presumptions Cespedes hurt himself riding a horse, no one said anything about Bumgarner signing with a team so he could ride his horses. While people use Cespedes and his ranch against him, Bumgarner hasn’t been criticized his at all. In fact, he was celebrated for choosing lifestyle over money.
This is not to say Bumgarner should be challenged or criticized. Rather, this is to say Cespedes and Bumgarner are being held to far different standards, and there is no justifiable reason for doing so. In the end, Cespedes is owed an apology for the unfair, unfounded, and at times, outright wrong criticisms directed at him, especially when those same criticisms are not being directed at Bumgarner.
When we saw the Yoenis Cespedes personal hype video perhaps we should have anticipated a media stand-off. Watching the video again, we see Cespedes’ working towards a comeback with negative media comments, mostly from Andy Martino.
As an aside, this isn’t too far from the similar issues with Noah Syndergaard and SNY wherein Syndergaard sarcastically said they were trying to trade him. This goes to the bizarre relationship between the Mets players and the team owned station and MLB owned sites covering them.
At times, the coverage seems unfair. That seems universal across all media outlets when you see how the New York media at times seems to go out of their way to mock the Mets players.
For example, there were the headlines and back pages mocking a serious Matt Harvey medical issue. To a certain extent, while beyond the pale, it wasn’t too surprising considering the sometimes adversarial relationship between the two.
If that was adversarial, we may need to find a new word for Cespedes, who is outright refusing to speak to the media this year. For his part, you understand.
Cespedes was oft criticized for his effort, and it was blown up to be more than his hustle. There were inferences you can’t pay him because he won’t play hard and/or he will be a distraction.
As we found out, the issue was his heels. He needed surgery on both, but like Mets before him, like Pedro Martinez, he was pushed into playing. Noticeably, you didn’t see criticism come crashing down on the Wilpons for this.
You also don’t see it for their own media freeze outs. But when, Cespedes does it, Anthony DiComo comes rushing in to make Cespedes decision seem like the right one:
I'm pretty sure a wild boar destroyed him, not the media.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) February 17, 2020
It should be noted this isn’t DiComo’s first offense. Likely won’t be his last. When he turns his dagger towards the Wilpons, at least in this nature, will be his first.
When you see responses like this, you move from saying Cespedes needs to handle this part of the job like a professional to saying maybe Cespedes is right here. Maybe, some people owe him an apology and fairer reporting.
Maybe.
Whatever the case, some of the reporting and inferences about Cespedes has been biased and unfair. Now, he’s taking matters into his own hands. Tweets like the ones from DiComo show us all his decision was at least justified.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Mets pursued Francisco Lindor and Mookie Betts this offseason. Sherman is a great reporter, and no one should question any of the information he provided, but when you read the article, there is one real conclusion to make.
The Mets didn’t really have interest in Lindor or Betts. Really, this was more of the same where the Mets try to sell after the fact they tried. The Mets do this all the time, and somehow they once again made the prudent decision once again showing the baseball world they know better than everyone.
Honestly, calling Lindor more of a need than a want is absurd. In his career, he has easily been a top 10 player in the game, and he is very clearly the best shortstop in all of baseball. The Mets and everyone can like Amed Rosario as much as they want, but he’s not anywhere near Lindor’s level, and even at his best, it is difficult to argue he will be at Lindor’s level over the next two years.
Keep in mind, the Mets have to make up 11 games in the standings to the Atlanta Braves. They’re also trying to gain ground on the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals. Significantly improving at any position was a need, not a want.
As for Betts, the Mets attempts to get him were laughable. The Red Sox were looking to move him due to luxury tax concerns, so naturally, the Mets were pushing the Red Sox to take back the back contract of Yoenis Cespedes or Jed Lowrie. Trading Cespedes was increasingly laughable considering how poorly things went for Cespedes in Boston, which was part of the reason the Red Sox traded him to the Detroit Tigers for Rick Porcello.
Then we get to potentially headlining a deal with J.D. Davis. The Dodgers were offering Alex Verdugo, who is a significantly better player with more control, and the Mets counter was Davis, who, even if you buy his bat, doesn’t have a position on the field.
Yes, the Mets also offered Brandon Nimmo in potential deals, but you go back to how much the Mets really offered him, and of course, the packages offered mattered. Clearly, any package offered never really moved the needle as the Mets were well outside of a three team trade, which at a time, appeared to be a four team trade with the Angels nearing getting Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling as a side deal to the blockbuster.
Another funny note from the article was Jeff McNeil.
Supposedly, McNeil was supposed to be a part of the trade with the Seattle Mariners for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz only for us now to believe they Mets turned down trades for J.T. Realmuto because the Marlins wanted McNeil. That’s right, the Mets were willing to potentially trade McNeil for Cano and Diaz but not Realmuto.
Ok, sure, we all buy it just like we buy the Mets were really interested in trading for Lindor or Betts.
Finally, after an eventful winter, even by Mets standards, pitchers and catchers report tomorrow. While the Mets may have an idea as to what their 26 man roster will be, that doesn’t mean this organization is truly ready for the 2020 season.
First and foremost, they need a third everyday outfielder. Perhaps, that could be Yoenis Cespedes, but no one really knows what, if anything, he can contribute.
The Mets may plan to play J.D. Davis out there, and he could possibly platoon with Dominic Smith. Neither situation is ideal with both ideally being first baseman.
Even with Dellin Betances and presumably Michael Wacha, you’d ideally want one more big arm in the bullpen, especially when you can’t be sure what you’re getting with Jeurys Familia or Edwin Diaz. That leaves the Mets hoping either they or likely Robert Gsellman can be that guy.
This speaks to overall depth issues. While there enough bodies, we don’t know if they’re the right or good enough ones. We see that with Tomas Nido and Rene Rivera battling for the backup catcher spot.
Part of that money, which, of course, goes back to the ownership issue. We’ve known for over a decade now the Mets needed new owners, but only now do they realize that themselves.
Of course, they won’t go quietly into the night trying to get to run the Mets for five years with someone else’s money. Maybe their best argument to any new owner is they did that effectively in 2006.
Overall, this is a Mets team which could win the World Series. However, it’s going to need some help to get there and a lot to break right. If they get there, no one should bet against Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard in the postseason.
That’s an odd thing to say considering this time last year we were promised no more ifs.
Just when you thought the New York Knicks were maybe starting to get it, they go out and hire Leon Rose to be their new team president. While there are some who believe this could be a boon for the Knicks much in the same vein Bob Myers with the Warriors or Rob Pelinka with the Lakers, we remember everyone thought it was a good idea to get Rose in the past.
That was the trade with the Chicago Bulls for Derrick Rose. That ended with Rose disappearing and having one of, if not the, worst season of his career.
Looking forward, we see with the Mets hiring a CAA agent is not exactly the best route to success. In fact, aside from not selling the team to Steve Cohen, hiring Brodie Van Wagenen to become the Mets GM has been one of the worst decisions the Wilpons have made over the past two years.
In very short order, Van Wagenen ruined the Mets prospect depth and payroll flexibility. Part of that was his fulfilling Robinson Cano‘s request to come back to New York, and his signing Jed Lowrie, who was physically unable to play last year. Notably, both players were his former clients.
In terms of the prospect depth, we have seen Jarred Kelenic, Anthony Kay, Justin Dunn, and Simeon Woods Richardson reach top 100 rankings.
Van Wagenen has also fired Carlos Beltran for being part of the Astros sign stealing scandal despite trading for two former Astros, J.D. Davis and Jake Marisnick, who had also taken part in that scandal. While Van Wagenen denied any knowledge of the scandal, he notably traded for Marisnick after the news broke.
He has portrayed Hector Santiago as a bit of a savior while also allowing Zack Wheeler to go to a division rival (partially due to budgetary restraints). He also proved to not be true to his word forcing Devin Mesoraco into retirement, cutting Adeiny Hechavarria before he accrued a bonus, and never calling up Dilson Herrera.
As bad as the Wilpons are and continue to be, Van Wagenen has made everything worse.
While Rose may be different than Van Wagenen, the Wilpons are not discernibly different from James Dolan in terms of running a professional sports franchise. Ultimately, while it may not be fair to look at Rose like the next Van Wagenen, you do have to fairly question whether Dolan is more Wilpon or whether he is more like the Warriors or Lakers.
Seeing how Rose’s representation of Carmelo Anthony helped foster the relationship with Dolan much like how Van Wagenen’s representation of Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier fostered the relationship with the Wilpons, you shudder as a Knicks and Mets fan.
Hopefully, Rose is different than Van Wagenen, and he proves to actually know what he is doing. After all, you can cross your fingers Dolan has some clue with how he operates the Rangers. You don’t have the same faith with the Wilpons with their inability to even earn a profit of over a billion.
In the end, the Rose hire may be very different than the Van Wagenen one. No one should have that faith just yet.