Reese Kaplan -- Fixing the Mess, Er, Mets

As a project manager nothing bothers me more than seeing things going wrong and watching someone do nothing.  However, as a consultant when I ask, “Why do you do that?” and the reply inevitably is, “Well, that’s the way we’ve always done it” I hear the ka-ching sound of revenues coming in as the client is obviously in need of some sound advice.

In the Mets world, for seven years we experienced over-the-hill veterans getting the opportunities over younger players, bullpens being burned out, batting orders making no sense whatsoever and productive players buried on the bench.  We saw poor communication between the management team and the players, a steady culture of losing and a front office that would do just enough to claim to have made changes but never enough to actually improve.  We also saw how injuries were mismanaged and the club would go shorthanded or rush people back, only to have to disable them for longer periods of time.

Well, the more things change, the more they sometimes stay the same.  Such is the case with the 2018 Mets.  I don’t know if it’s marching orders from the front office or Mickey Callaway being apparently as clueless as his predecessor, but as Yogi Berra would say it’s déjà vu all over again.

On the subject of the over-the-hill veterans, Adrian Gonzalez this year is a lot like Jose Reyes was last year – a veteran player who still has a little bit left in the tank but usurping valuable ABs from someone who might be a part of the future.  Actually, that comparison is unfair to Gonzalez as he is hitting a mediocre but league average .258 to go with 5 HRs and 20 RBIs.  That would put him on pace for 20 HRs and 80 RBIs on the season – not bad but not exactly All-Star material either.  By contrast last year Wilmer Flores hit .271 with 18 HRs and 52 RBIs in just over a half-season’s worth of ABs.  One of these things is not like the other.  Throw in pounding Pete Alonso in AA and it would seem you have more productive alternatives.  I'd almost rather see Dom Smith play everyday and see if he can make something of himself for the future than more of the 2018 version of James Loney.  I’m not necessarily saying to kick Gonzalez to the curb but if you want his clubhouse presence make him the backup.

Asdrubel Cabrera is the only Met regular player having a good offensive season who is also still relatively healthy.  I want my crow slow roasted with salt and garlic, please.  Now you have to decide if you want to try to retain him at 2B for 2019 by negotiating now when YOU HAVE THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to do so, or are you going to let him test the free agent waters and perhaps sign him at a higher price later?  Or do you let him walk away to open up the spot for Luis Guillorme, Gavin Cecchini, T.J. Rivera, Jeff McNeill or a second baseman to be named later? 

Amed Rosario is the exception to the veteran/rookie quandary.  He is out there day in and day out, but Callaway kept jerking him around the batting order until he realized what casual observers were tracking – that he actually does better in the 9 hole.  Maybe there’s hope for slow learning Callaway after all.

Todd Frazier has performed as advertised when he was able to stay on the field.   He was never my first choice for the position but should easily out distance his paycheck.  Obviously one reason he was chosen was price, another was the lack of draft pick compensation.  Mike Moustakas was the name most people wanted to see here, but he cost more and would require that pick.  Frazier’s delivered .237/5/21.  The power is a bit down but the average (sadly) is a bit up.  Moustakas?  That one year flash-in-the-pan is hitting .294/10/30 for KC.  That’s the déjà vu reality of the Mets – going for the tin ring instead of the brass one.

Now I can’t fault Mickey Callaway nor Sandy Alderson for going into the season with the catching duo from the end of last year.  They were projected in the top 5 production among all major league catchers (in terms of offense, anyway).  Nor can I fault either of them for losing both to injury on the very same day.  I can, however, aim squarely at the guy controlling the lineup pencil for giving ANY ABs more than necessary to Jose Lobaton who is a career .216 hitter and a disaster as a catcher.  Not that Tomas Nido is the second coming of Johnny Bench, but why not play someone with potential to be better than someone who has proven that he is what he is and it’s all he will ever be?  He makes you long for the dubious offensive exploits of minor leaguer Anthony Recker and his Hispanic clone, Rene Rivera.  Kudos to Sandy Alderson for the change-of-scenery trade that swapped injury rehabbers and underperformers Matt Harvey and Devin Mesoraco.  Again, the potential for something better is preferable for guaranteed mediocrity.  However, 20 lashes for hanging onto Jose Lobaton.  He is the very definition of superfluous right now with Nido also on the 40 man roster.  DFA Lobaton immediately, bring back Nido for the backup catcher slot until Plawecki returns and open up a spot on the 40 man roster for someone actually producing offense such as McNeill or (deep breath) Pete Alonso.

The outfield collectively is a mess.  Yoenis Cespedes was foolishly allowed not only to play but also to steal bases while nursing a hip flexor injury which finally and mercifully resulted in a trip to the DL.  Now you know and I know that the club that routinely struggles for runs will bring back their HR and RBI leader much sooner than they should and that will likely result in future and longer stints on the DL.  Déjà vu, no?

His Mr. Glass counterpart, Juan Lagares, injured his toe in an outfield wall collision in a blowout while on a rain soaked CitiField.  Who didn't see the handwriting on the wall?  Surgery.  Gone for the season!    

I wish I had Brandon Nimmo’s publicist because he’s singlehandedly transformed him from a “first round draft pick bust” to the new Wilmer Flores, the guy everyone insists should be in the lineup every day.  While I appreciate his selectivity at the plate the fact remains that he’s hitting .267/2/5.  Over the course of a full season playing every day he would deliver 20 HRs and 50 RBIs.  The 20 HRs would be nice if it actually happened, but his high water mark in the minors against inferior pitching was just 10 in a real league and 11 in just under 400 ABs in the high altitude PCL.  What I’m saying is if you condemn Wilmer Flores as a role player for his superior output then why clamor for Nimmo to be a starter?

Speaking of starters, why is Michael Conforto here?  Yes, we all know the club is absolutely desperate for offense, but is .200/3/9 in 100 ABs going to help?  Extrapolate to 600 ABs to be kind and that’s 18 HRs and 54 RBIs.  We’ll leave the Mendoza line balancing act alone for a minute.  Now, given what he’s done in the past and seeing what he’s doing now does it occur to his manager, the trainer, the hitting coach or the front office that MAYBE they rushed him back prematurely?   Once again, the more things change...  While there’s no one on the 40-man roster putting himself into the equation as an outfielder, could a Zach Borenstein hold down the fort for awhile until Conforto has regained his power stroke?  Borenstein isn’t on the 40-man roster but delivered 24 HRs and 91 RBIs last year while on a pace for 28/100 this year.  He’s not necessarily a long term answer but right now Conforto is hurting the club more than helping it.  DFA Jose Reyes and you have an opening for him.  

I can’t say much about Jay Bruce.  We saw the good of 2017, the bad of 2017 and now the ugly of 2018.  He’s streaky and has a long track record of success, and given what they’re paying him he’s going to play when his foot allows him to do so.  However, it’s hard to ignore a lackluster .230/3/14 line.

The starting rotation should include Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and yes, Steven Matz.  After that it’s pretty questionable.  I am willing to give Zack Wheeler a partial pass for Wednesday afternoon’s debacle given the conditions (though, unless I’m wrong, both clubs were playing under the same downpour).  He was masterful in his first Mesoraco-supported start.  Let him continue for at least 2-3 more turns in the rotation before making a definitive conclusion about his possible banishment to the bullpen.  After all, there were alternatives available like Corey Oswalt but he didn’t even get into a game this time around in Queens.

Jason Vargas is the much bigger dilemma.  You have to think there’s quite a bit of rust after having missed most of Spring Training and April with the fracture of his glove hand.  Still, his flat out awful pitching in the second half of last year could be indicative of having reached the end of the road, yet once again the GM felt it was a worthy gamble for a bounce back since he didn’t require a draft pick and was secured for the relatively modest price of $8 million per year.  Right now there’s nowhere for him to go but up, and if they’re not going to allow him to rehab in the minors for 30 days, you’re stuck with him.  Fortunately his contract is structured as a one year deal with a one year option at the same salary or a $2 million buyout. 

Now many are arguing for the move of Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo from the pen into the rotation but that’s the very definition of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.  They are both flourishing in their roles in the pen and do deserve to be moved, but not into the rotation.  They need to take over the 7^th and 8^th inning responsibilities setting up Jeurys Familia.  This change does two things.  It allows them to minimize the burnout of the multiple inning stints they’ve endured under “Use ‘Em Until His Arm Falls Off” Callaway, and it gives them high leverage pitching experience much like Addison Reed gained before being thrust into the closer’s role.  Do remember that both AJ Ramos (thankfully) and Jeurys Familia are due to be free agents at year’s end.  Yes, there are some very interesting closer arms in the minors but none at the AAA level (other than their own Claude Rains, Tim Peterson). 

To fix the bullpen I would DFA or outright Hansel Robles when he comes off the DL and bring up Peterson.  Can he honestly be worse than Robles?  Hansel has had his many chances and surely there’s a hungry witch somewhere who would welcome him.

One would assume Buddy Baumann and/or Jacob Rhame will be warbling Viva Las Vegas once Anthony Swarzak returns from the witness protection program.  If he can pitch half as well as he did in 2017 he would be a major upgrade.  Why they signed him instead of better and cheaper options is something we’ll never know.

Finally, let’s get it into Mickey Callaway’s head that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.  Don’t put six pitchers into every game.  When you’re in a blowout as you had on Wednesday, tell someone to take one for the team and just use a single pitcher as long as possible.  That way you preserve the rest of your bullpen. 

I do commend Callaway for not ducking and hiding after the lineup mishap.  However, he’s been noticeably quieter and far less visible once the losing began.  I’d like to see some of that swagger and bluster that made everyone develop a man-crush on him once he was hired.  Instead he’s morphing into a taller and more hirsute version of the departed Skipper.  And that’s not a good thing at all.