Reese Kaplan -- Mets Get It Wrong Yet AGAIN

Well, for those of us who thought the return of Todd Frazier was going to result in the righting of roster wrongs, you’d have been better placing those bets on the lottery.  At least then you would have had a one in 100,000,000 chance of being right.  When it’s obvious to everyone who is even casual fan what the Mets must do to correct their problems, they will find the wrong answer every time.

Now, I’m not going to shed any tears about the demotion of Gerson Bautista or the DFA decision for Buddy Baumann.  When you factor in the going-shorthanded business-as-usual approach to building a bench with Devin Mesoraco in that dreaded day-to-day status, they couldn’t rightly cut Jose Lobaton whose primary purpose here right now is apparently that of a paperweight. 

Going with a three-man bench as they did recently is not a formula for success (and the record shows).  So while neither of the departing pitchers is likely going to weaken an already substandard bullpen.  One would assume the starting lineup includes Adrian Gonzalez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Amed Rosario, Todd Frazier, Brandon Nimmo, Michael Confoto, Jay Bruce and Kevin Plawecki.  

That means the bench now sports Lethal Jose Lobaton, Malfunctioning Devin Mesoraco, Bygone Jose Bautista, Gloveman Luis Gullorme and The Teflon King, Jose Reyes.  You could make a case that Lobaton’s lease on Mets life is tenuous at best, the bargain hunting Wilpons are enamored with scrap heap picks Gonzalez and Bautista, and even the asleep-at-the-wheel Sandy Alderson must see some value in Guillorme.  What exactly is Reyes’ role here? 

The most foolishly optimistic among us thought Frazier’s return would spell the long overdue departure of the .141 hitting Reyes who has become more of a liability in the field than Wilmer Flores.  You can’t steal first base, so the fact he can occasionally provide some speed means that his only usefulness left is that of pinch runner.  I bet Tom Brennan a nickel that it would be Guillorme departing and not Reyes when Frazier returned, but again the management zigged when we zagged.  They dumped an extra bullpen arm but kept both infielders. 

Does that mean the next deadline for Reyes’ existence is the return of Wilmer Flores?  That makes too much sense so obviously that won’t spell the end of the former star.  A cockeyed optimist might think that the DFA decision on Buddy Baumann could spell an opening for Jeff McNeil or Peter Alonso, but we are talking about the Mets.  More likely it’s a roster spot for the likes of another has-been like Hanley Ramirez (though he’d be a marked improvement over both Gonzalez and Bautista). 

Now to be fair, the 37 year old former Blue Jays slugger is hitting .281 in his brief 13 game trial with the Mets, but that’s with no home runs and 2 RBIs.  I thought the purpose was to provide run production?  Now in his case I can see keeping him around until Yoenis Cespedes returns as there is no one in the outfield in the minor league system making a strong case to get promoted. 

The wet-behind-the-ears 36 year old Gonzalez is doing somewhat better run-wise, with 6 HRs and 26 RBIs.  The .253 batting average is discouraging.  He would project to hit 18 HRs and 78 RBIs.  Here’s a radical idea?  Trade him to a team that is just a single bat away from contention.  That’s not the Mets.  Right now he’s blocking the future – Dom Smith and/or Pete Alonso.  I’d even rather see Wilmer Flores on a regular basis when healthy.  By comparison, his numbers don’t project to be any better, but he’s a notoriously slow starter who performs better when he plays regularly.  And he’s likely to improve…whereas Gonzalez’ best days are clearly 2 years behind him. 

Of course, these moves are just precursors to clearing out the extra pieces necessary to setting the team in the right direction, but that’s another rant for another day.