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2/21/18

Reese Kaplan -- What If 2017 Happens Again?



As much as we don’t want to think 2017 can happen again, what are the 2018 plans in the event of catastrophic injuries?


1B

If Adrian Gonzalez (and let’s not fool ourselves into thinking even a sub .250 Spring Training will keep him from being the starter at 1st base) goes down with, oh, I don’t know, a back injury…who’s on deck?  Well, they claim they are comfortable with Jay Bruce handling 1st base duties and there’s always Wilmer Flores.  Todd Frazier also has logged time there as well.  Then there’s that young guy who will be hopefully more often at the craps table than the buffet tables in Las Vegas.  They seem well covered there.

2B

Right now it’s Asdrubal Cabrera’s job to lose.  Behind him are the aforementioned Wilmer Flores and Jose Reyes (though not necessarily in that order).  Waiting in the wings with an injured wing is T.J. Rivera. 

SS

Should Amed Rosario experience some medical malady (though for once it’s not old age and/or a history of past injuries that is cause for concern), they have three equally unattractive alternatives in Cabrera, Reyes and Flores.  If they want stronger defense, though he's been switched to play 2B in the minors, Luis Guillorme came up as a SS.  

3B

Todd Frazier has been a picture of health throughout his career, so it’s natural that something unexpected would affect him once he dons the orange and blue.  See shortstop alternatives above for who would take over and throw in T.J. Rivera as well.  In general, the infield seems fairly well covered.

OF

Assuming the starters are indeed Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto (when healthy) and Jay Bruce, they have a strong offensive trio.  Defensive whiz (and perhaps reinvented batsman) Juan Lagares and the walking man Brandon Nimmo should round out the five men with lots of range to cover.  Jose Reyes and Wilmer Flores are expected to get some spring innings out there, but in the latter’s case it would likely be an emergency situation akin to Todd Hundley out there.  If any of the big boppers in the outfield go down, Lagares, Nimmo & company are OK for awhile but there would most definitely be big drop off in run production. 

C

The starting duo of Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki are the current major league alternatives.  Down in the minors you have ex Nationals’ backstop Jose Lobaton as well as the up and down bat of Tomas Nido who had a sip of coffee with the big club last September. 

SP

Tread lightly here, my friends.  We saw what happened last year when only Jacob deGrom emerged unscathed.  Rather than going pitcher by pitcher, what have they done for their depth?  Well, Jason Vargas for one big thing…yes, as a friend recently told me, he’s not the second coming (and left handed version) of Tom Seaver, but he’s not going to hurt you in games.  That’s a big step forward from many who took starts last year.  Can we forget Tommy Milone, Chris Flexen, Rafael Montero and others?  Hopefully a long winter of rest (and NO World Baseball Classic) will help Seth Lugo.  Robert Gsellman kicked it into a higher gear in September.  Chris Flexen gets a chance to regroup and try again in AAA which he’s skipped en route to the majors.  Corey Oswalt will also be in the mix down there as well.  Marcos Molina is another year removed from his TJS.  The depth is better but with four starters coming back from injury it’s not something on which to bet the ranch.

RP

Well, the club was forced to see how they fared without Jeurys Familia for most of last year.  Then they had Addison Reed.  Now it’s AJ Ramos.  He’s a credible if somewhat lesser option.  The closer position seems well covered.  After that it’s newcomer Anthony Swarzak and returning lefty Jerry Blevins.  So you start off with four good bullpen options.  After that’s a dogfight between the starters who don’t crack the rotation, Paul Sewald, Hansel Robles, Jacob Rhame, Jamie Callahan and even some non-roster invitees like Kyle Regnault, David Roseboom, P.J. Conlon, Drew Smith and Kevin McGowan.  The depth seems better than when alternatives included guys like Erik Goeddel, Josh Smoker and others.  The only quality arm to depart was Chasen Bradford. 

Conclusion

I guess I’m buying into the company line – that with healthy starting pitching this team is probably competitive.  Without it, they’re not.

9 comments:

  1. You left out young, eager Phil Evans...obviously, the re-signing of Cabrera and signing of Frazier does not help his cause.

    I guess this is Dekker's 9th life, and Kelly's as well - will we see them at all in 2018? Only if there are injuries.

    I am doing an article for Friday with another take on injuries.

    Interestingly for pitchers, unlike the Mets who used 28 pitchers last year, the Injuns only used 20, and 3 of those combined to total 7 innings. It sure seems that with the import of Injun Callaway, the revolving door of Mets pitchers could diminish in 2018, which won't make the pitching prospects happy.

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  2. Morning Reese -

    Actually, the Mets are filled with seasoned backups in case they are needed to fill in the holes, most of which are ex-Mets that returned this season.

    The one 'hole' seems to be in the outfield, which still has my head shaking that they seem to be doing nothing to work out a deal for Dickerson.

    R.I.P. Billy Graham

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  3. Agreed, Mack......I think Dickerson would be a nice "get" and at at discounted price since the Rays will lose him for nothing eventually due to the odd decision to designate him for assignment.

    What the heck is with that club lately (Rays)? Must be something in the water down here.

    I think the depth is better this year, as you stated Reese. The team cannot have any significant injuries to their "foundation" guys if they want to play for a Wild Card, etc.

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  4. Mike -

    Simply put, Floridians do not support their major league baseball teams.

    They love spring training, but the cost of real baseball doesn't fit their fixed income wallets.

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  5. Indeed.......they will likely move the Rays to Ybor City (downtown Tampa) in the next few years, but I don't ever see a Florida market supporting a team like the Boston, Chicago or New York.

    Sad in a way, because the Rays had a nice run under Joe Madden and could have been a factor with the young team that they had built.

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  6. I would gladly offer them Juan Lagares but he actually makes more money than Dickerson. Nimmo makes less and it would be lefty for lefty. That might get it done but would the Mets bite and potentially give up the years of controllable cost to get a guaranteed 25+ HR guy? Granted, when Conforto comes back there's nowhere for him to play, but hey, maybe it's just me who wants to win games from day one and not just give away the early part of the season.

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  7. Reese -

    Your approach is correct.

    More... is always more.

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  8. You really want to trade Nimmo for a rental who will only have a regular lineup spot for a month or so? WowW

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