10/23/16

Reese Kaplan -- WAY Outside The Box Thinking


Back when the Mets executed the trade that rescued Mike Piazza from his banishment to south Florida people were ecstatic to have someone of his offensive prowess available to help the club win.  However, that adulation quickly turned negative because he was not particularly adept at throwing baserunners out trying to steal. 

I don’t know…if I get a guy who hits well enough to make the Hall of Fame, I was willing to overlook his defensive shortcomings.  The Mets even dabbled with trying him at 1st base to relieve the strain of catching every day and to bring in a backstop with a better arm.  That experiment was about as successful as was the Todd Hundley to the outfield decision. 

Anyway, fast forward several years and there was a promising young catcher who racked up multiple 20 HR seasons for the Colorado Rockies before the age of 25.  His name is Wilin Rosario.  While no one is suggesting Rosario will ever be mistaken for Mike Piazza, the fact remains he was an offense-first catcher who was pushed off the position and had to endure the constant catcalls about his defensive game. 

His career in Colorado came to a rather quick end and by age 26 he was cut loose by the Rockies who didn’t think what the arbiters wanted to pay him was good value.  He wound up signing with a Korean team and in his 2016 season there all he did was hit .321 with 33 HRs and 120 RBIs.  Granted, Korean baseball is not the major leagues but as many transplanted players have shown us it’s probably somewhere between AAA and the majors in terms of relative talent. 

So here’s a WAY outside-the-box idea to consider…should the Mets inquire about bringing Rosario back to the majors?  He earned just $1.3 million last year in Korea.  He can play catcher or 1st base.  He’s a right handed hitter who could help balance out a lefty-heavy lineup.  He could also be an insurance policy should Travis d’Arnaud once again falter or make his annual trip to the DL.  He could form part of a lefty/righty platoon at 1st base with Lucas Duda (or Jay Bruce or even Michael Conforto).  He could also provide right handed power off the bench which the Mets currently don’t have unless Wilmer Flores returns to that role. 
I think for less than you’ll likely pay bench pieces like Alejandro De Aza or Kelly Johnson or even Justin Ruggiano, it’s an option worth considering.  

15 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Worth a look,what the heck. It would not be bad to have a backup guy who can also catch. Havi g only 2 guys that can catch can be as binding as kaopectate, so he is a worthwhile, out of box guy to bring up.

He could be Paul's Sewald's personal catcher too LOL.

KERSHAW is human after all, now we get down to the ex-Yankee Closer World Series. Let's get either Miller or Chapman for the Mets pen next year and win another 5-7 games.

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's a bad idea,and I do like his offense. That being said, with our young pitching staff, I think we need a solid defensive catcher who can shut down our opponents'running game. I don't know this--but I'm very curious to know how many bases were stolen against our staff and how many of those SB's led to runs that cost the Mets games. I wonder if we didn't have a better throwing catcher--how many more games the Mets would have won? I would love having a slugging catcher--but I'd sacrifice a little offense for a strong-armed catcher who calls a good game and can keep opponents honest on the basepaths--especially facing Dee Gordon and Trea Turner 19 times each per year.

Zozo said...

I like that idea but might prefer a trade for Brian McCann with Granderson going back to the yanks.

Mack Ade said...

I have my own thoughts on who should play 1B in 2017 for the Mets coming up on Monday.

Mack Ade said...

Zozo -

The Mets would have to pay a considerable percentage of Grandy's salary in a trade to the Yanks and adding that to the cost of McCann would be a very costly move

Reese Kaplan said...

Why would the Mets have to kick in towards Grandy's salary when he's due $15 million for one year whereas McCann could be a three year commitment with a greater AAV with $17 million, $17 million and an auto-option kicking in for $15 million if he meets games-played numbers? I think it would be the other way around -- that if the Mets entertained this kind of deal they would expect the Yankees to kick in money or players since they are taking the bigger chunk of financial responsibility.

Tom Brennan said...

Good point, Reese. And Yankee Stadium would be perfect place for a team like Yanks to get $$ worth out of Grandy.

Mack Ade said...

well, anyway, I don't think anyone is going to be interesting in Granderson... that's just me

bill metsiac said...

With Familia, Reed, Salas, Robles, Blevins, and Edgin, not to mention Bart, Lugo and Gsellman, why dpend what it would cost to get either of those guys?

Right now, wve GOT a solid defensive catcher with an arm that guns down base-stealers. We need an offensive threat to pair him with.

I'm not ready to jettison Travis yet, but the guy Reese is touting definitely is worth looking at.

bill metsiac said...

With Familia, Reed, Salas, Robles, Blevins, and Edgin, not to mention Bart, Lugo and Gsellman, why dpend what it would cost to get either of those guys?

Right now, wve GOT a solid defensive catcher with an arm that guns down base-stealers. We need an offensive threat to pair him with.

I'm not ready to jettison Travis yet, but the guy Reese is touting definitely is worth looking at.

bill metsiac said...

With Familia, Reed, Salas, Robles, Blevins, and Edgin, not to mention Bart, Lugo and Gsellman, why spend what it would cost to get either of those guys?

Right now, wve GOT a solid defensive catcher with an arm that guns down base-stealers. We need an offensive threat to pair him with.

I'm not ready to jettison Travis yet, but the guy Reese is touting definitely is worth looking at.

bill metsiac said...

With Familia, Reed, Salas, Robles, Blevins, and Edgin, not to mention Bart, Lugo and Gsellman, why spend what it would cost to get either of those guys?

Right now, wve GOT a solid defensive catcher with an arm that guns down base-stealers. We need an offensive threat to pair him with.

I'm not ready to jettison Travis yet, but the guy Reese is touting definitely is worth looking at.

Mack Ade said...

(Metsiac seems to have the hiccups...)

Tom Brennan said...

We all wished Grandy could have been signed for 3 years, and Mack, what you just said is why!

bill metsiac said...

Does Tom have a patent on that? 😏