Reese Kaplan -- A July 31st Do-Over for 2018

We all saw what happened after the great free agent purge of 2017.  This piece is not to discuss the, ahem, returns the Mets got from dispatching Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, Jay Bruce and Addison Reed.  Enough has been said about the Mets’ miserly ways, refusing to pay down sunk cost contracts to up the quality of the prospects received in return.  No, we’re going to look at how a similar sell-off could result in a much more interesting team for the balance of the 2018 season.

Last year the incompetent manager took the opportunity not to play youngsters like Gavin Cecchini to see what they could do with an extended look, but instead to let free agent to be Jose Reyes go on to lead the team in ABs and give a steady starting role to 35 year old Nori Aoki.  Wouldn’t the smarter play have been to see who could be a part of the future instead of squandering ABs on people who theoretically should not? 

Now, love him or hate him, I’m willing to give Mickey Callaway some benefit of doubt that he doesn’t suffer peach fuzz phobia like his predecessor (though the recent decision to play the same Jose Reyes instead of Luis Guillorme when he felt Amed Rosario needed a break has me questioning my giving him benefit of doubt).  The Mets are a mess.  There’s no question about it but things are not going to improve until you see what you’ve got and how things can shape up in the future. 

I’m going to assume that when the “Open for Business” sign goes up in Queens, the people front and center in the showroom window will include Asdrubal Cabrera, Jay Bruce, Devin Mesoraco, Jeurys Familia and Todd Frazier.  I’m not including Yoenis Cespedes in this mix since he’s not likely to be healthy enough to trade even if you could find a taker.  I’m not even going to get into the sell them or sign them debates about the two aces.  The focus here is on what the lineup would look like (regardless of trade returns) for the remainder of the season.

Towards that end the lineup I propose would be far more interesting to watch than the morass we’re enduring on a nightly basis:

Brandon Nimmo

Amed Rosario

Michael Conforto

Peter Alonso

Dominic Smith

Wilmer Flores

Jeff McNeill

Kevin Plawecki

Nimmo leading off is a no-brainer. 

Rosario batting second will likely raise some eyebrows.  After all, he’s undisciplined and the role of the 2^nd place hitter is to advance the leadoff guy and get on base for the run producers.  Providing him with little to no protection batting 8th only exacerbates his weaknesses.  Changing his role and forcing him to concentrate on advancing the runner while simultaneously protecting him with an All Star bat behind could pay huge dividends.   

The next slots in the lineup are going lefty/righty – Conforto, Alonso, Smith, Flores and McNeil.  I see Smith playing LF every day, Conforto in RF and Nimmo in CF.  While Nimmo is no Juan Lagares he is a better fielder than Conforto.  Smith has to play the OF in order to make room for Alonso.  The only debate is whether you’re better with McNeil at 2B and Flores at 3B or vice versa.  I don’t want to hear about Flores’ lack of range.  He’s already demonstrated that he can hit.  The team can’t score.  Let the man play and see if the offense (a’la Mets version of Daniel Murphy) justifies the lack of defense (a’la Mets version of Daniel Murphy). 

While I appreciate the professionalism that Mesoraco has brought to the catching position, he’s on a $13 million contract.  Yes, he may drop off a bit next year but to what level?  Would you think you could snag him for $7 million?  Even if you can, do you want another .220 hitter in that all-or-nothing mold that’s failed miserably?  Let’s see what Plawecki can do now that he’s healthy.  While Travis d’Arnaud may be a non-tender candidate due to his increasing cost and traditional home on the DL, the Mets need to know can Plawecki be a catcher going forward or is that one of the many areas they need to strengthen?

Wouldn’t this lineup on a nightly basis at least be more interesting to watch?