Reese Kaplan -- Awaiting a July Decision Point

It surely seems eons ago that the Mets started off the season 11-1, then came the ignominious streak of losing, only to provide the quick and false hope things were once again going right.  There was a 4 game winning streak and people started bursting with optimism.  Then they lost a 5-1 game to the Marlins primarily on bad fielding by Jose Reyes, then came the gut punch with a Jeurys Familia meltdown in the 9^th inning.  All of that renewed good will was quickly rendered impotent.

Of course, the impact of those two games was exacerbated by highlighting some of the fundamental flaws on the roster.  First there is the inexplicable love affair with Jose Reyes.  I remember writing often that the Mets kept Ruben Tejada around (and usually starting) when he couldn’t hit, run, drive in runs and was at best a slightly above average fielder.  Now the rationale of the one trick pony is there with Jose Reyes who can’t hit, drive in runs or field any position where he’s playing, yet he maintains slightly above average baserunning ability.  Note to self…Ruben Tejada can’t even get a bench job in the majors despite Terry Collins’ infatuation with him.  Déjà vu, perhaps?

Next came the loud groan when it was announced that the Mets signed Jose Bautista to major league contract.  His .203 batting average last year was followed up with a .143 average this year, yet the front office felt this move was what the club needed to do to right its offensive ship?  Maybe they’d be interested in a civil engineering structure I have for sale that links Manhattan to Brooklyn…as P.T. Barnum said, there’s a sucker born every minute.  Now the midway hawkers are whispering to Sandy that Hanley Ramirez is available...

Lest you think this condemnation is strictly aimed at the General Manager and/or his assistants making the roster decisions, manager Mickey Callaway is similarly culpable.  I swear I was watching the younger version of Terry Collins on Wednesday  when it was clear by the 2^nd batter on Wednesday that Jeurys Familia simply didn’t have it.  I don’t blame that on the manager or the pitching coach.  Everyone is entitled to a bad day.  However, it is the job of the pitching gurus to realize that and take corrective action.  Instead, you saw them stubbornly cling to the “he’s my closer” mantra and the game that was a 1-0 win became a 2-1 defeat.  What happened to no set roles in the bullpen?  What happened to setting pitchers up to succeed?  What happened to actually trying to win games even if it came at the expense of a player’s ego?

So I sit here now thinking about the season rapidly devolving into Terry Collins Part Deux, with veterans playing over youngsters, changes not made when clearly they should and losing becoming an acceptable way of doing business.  Towards that end I’m already pondering 2019, what can and should change to help the club finally get into the right direction which they once took almost singlehandedly on the back of Yoenis Cespedes despite his manager’s puzzling decision making.

If by July you are foundering around .500, cut bait and try to get something in return for both Jeurys Familia and AJ Ramos.  Both are set to be free agents and neither looks to be a $10 million or so investment worth making.  Use the balance of the year to test drive Robert Gsellman, Paul Sewald and Tim Peterson in that role.  Peterson after a hiccup in one game is UP to a 2.36 ERA.  However, the thing that’s even more important is that he now has 6 saves and is showing he can do it in high pressure situations. 

Part ways with Adrian Gonzales.  I’ll be the first to admit that even at the mediocre level he’s producing he far exceeded my expectations.  However, 35 year old players are not cornerstones around which to build.  Move Dom Smith (deserving or not) up to Queens to platoon at 1B with Wilmer Flores and move Pete Alonso up to Las Vegas to see if he can handle the next level of pitching.  Plan B would be when Yoenis Cespedes returns to indeed hand your $13 million slumping right fielder a 1^st baseman’s mitt and let him platoon with Flores.  Either way, playing Gonzalez nearly every day makes as little sense as playing Jose Reyes every day did in 2017.

Speaking of the former cowardly batting champion who rested on his, err, laurels rather than earn his title, it’s long past time to say “Adios” to him.  Who here doesn’t think Luis Guillorme, Phil Evans, Gavin Cecchini, Jeff McNeil or a one-armed T.J. Rivera couldn’t out produce the smiling and ineffectual Reyes?  Take a hint from a WINNING organization in Beantown that just cut loose someone with 6 HRs and 29 RBIs.  Somehow I think the Mets could withstand sacrificing Reyes' 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 SBs and his anemic .145 average to go along with his lead glove.  Sentimentality doesn't win pennants anymore than living in the past does.  

Last time around I volunteered that the Mets could make this change easier by securing the services of a speedy right handed hitting outfielder who would fill the former Juan Lagares role.  Well, they got the right handed part correct with Jose Bautista.  Speedy?  Well, even when he was ten years younger he tallied but a single stolen base.  Somehow I don’t think at age 37 he’s getting any faster, unless you’re counting his trips back to the dugout as he’s routinely making them with greater frequency when he has a bat in his hands.  He’s no longer causing delays with bat flips and slow home run trots.

Another big decision for 2019 concerns who is going to play 2B.  Asdrubel Cabrera has done everything that could reasonably have been expected of him (and more) but he’s also going to be looking at a paycheck north of the $10 million mark and he’s going to start next season as an old 33.  Already he misses time due to various nagging minor ailments that will only become more frequent and slower to heal as he gets older.  Some have suggested that a better way to go is to create a formidable defense up the middle with Amed Rosario and Luis Guillorme manning SS and 2B respectively, but how would we know if Guillorme would be up to the task of handling major league pitching IF HE DOESN’T PLAY? 

Catcher is another position that is again in flux.  Devin Mesoraco is most definitely a professional how he goes about playing the game, but he too is a free agent and is coming off a Cincinnatti-funded $13 million contract.  He’ll likely get a significant cut but will it be enough to tempt the Wilpons?  Will he stay healthy enough?  Will he produce enough?  He’s a tremendous dice-roll and with Travis d’Arnaud coming off TJS, will Kevin Plawecki be considered the primary catcher going forward?

The outfield appears to be set for the foreseeable future with Yoenis Cespedes’ contract unmovable, Jay Bruce likely unmovable and Michael Conforto still cheap enough to make them want to keep him around.  Brandon Nimmo is certainly showing flashes, but like Wilmer Flores (hitting .275 since Todd Frazier hit the DL), there are mediocrities ahead of him that relegate him to a bench role until or unless multiple injuries occur. 

So where is your current optimism level about the 2018 season?  For which players will you hold open the door to encourage their departure?