Reese Kaplan -- Three Quick Hits About the Mets

Oh, Mickey, You’re So Fine...or Are You?

Mickey Callaway apparently lit up the room, hopefully in a better way than Jeff Torborg once did.  His resume spoke volumes about his ability to wrest the most from a pitching staff, and though early in the year many were already questioning if what he’d done in Cleveland was merely smoke and mirrors, the fact is that he’s got quite a few pitchers operating on all cylinders like never before.  Jacob deGrom is off to his best start ever, Steven Matz appears to have found himself after a very rough start, Zack Wheeler’s reeled off a few good ones now, Seth Lugo has been awesome, even Jason Vargas has seemingly rediscovered some of his former glory, and Robert Gsellman has been fantastic.  That much you have to give him.  He was a pitching-first manager who, together with Dave Eiland, are delivering on that front.

The second thing we heard in the beginning was what a strong communicator he is and how that was a stark contrast to his predecessor.  In the press conferences and in the meetings with the daily press throughout spring training he seemed to have that down pat as well, but once the adversity hit in terms of injuries and poor hitting, he all of the sudden seemed a lot less forthcoming and forthright with the beat reporters. 

What we haven’t heard is how well he’s communicating with his players, but as evidenced by some of the walking wounded, it appears that no one is staying closely abreast of what’s going on when the players are outside the clubhouse.  David Wright and T.J. Rivera were fighting for the “Where’s Waldo?” mantle and until recently Yoenis Cespedes threw his hat into the ring for this game as well.  We’ve heard nary a peep about Wilmer Flores and Anthony Swarzak only recently returned from his stint in the NY Mets own witness protection program. 

There was also much ado made about changing the culture…did that mean no longer burning out relievers?  Nope, Gsellman is on pace for well over 100 IP.  Does that mean kids getting to play when veterans aren’t getting it done?  Well, do the names Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista and Jose Reyes mean anything when the likes of Dom Smith, Luis Guillorme and others sit?  Even Brandon Nimmo couldn’t get steady ABs until injuries to Juan Lagares, Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes left the manager with no other choice.  Is it no longer all about the long ball, and have both speed and defense become a part of the arsenal?  No, the more things change…

Dom Smith vs. Peter Alonso

It hurts sometimes when you have to go through the mental contortions necessary to understand the rationale behind a seemingly illogical position.   Why would you promote the man with the pedestrian stats from AAA when there’s someone crushing the ball so prodigiously at AA that pitchers have simply stopped trying to give him anything at all to hit? 

Well, if you’re watching the success of former first round pick Brandon Nimmo this year, there were plenty who wrote him off as a bust or a failure before he ever got the opportunity to play regularly.  Consequently the same naysayers who are ready to kick Dom Smith to the curb in favor of the flavor of the week, Peter Alonso, may not understand the method behind the madness.

First, if Smith succeeds this year, what a lovely problem to have – two slugging first basemen to contend for a role in 2019.  Suppose he succeeds but only against right handed pitching…that’s still a grand problem with either Wilmer Flores or Peter Alonso (or even Todd Frazier) ready to step in to face the lefties.   

On the other hand, suppose Smith shows he is again overmatched in the big leagues…then you still have Plan B in Peter Alonso waiting in the wings and likely getting to pad his already enviable stats in the hitting friendly PCL when he gets promoted to fill Smith’s former slot there.  If you instead force fed Alonso into the big leagues prematurely, it could play a number on his head and you have remember he’s not had all that many pro ABs due to a myriad of injuries. 

Lastly, the all-important service time clock will start up this season if they promote Alonso.  We all know how the decisions on the Mets are made more often about money than about a desire to win.  Delaying him means additional cheap years of control before the arbitration and free agency periods arrive.   This week a “high level official within the Mets organization” said there’s no way, no how Alonso plays in New York during 2018.  Methinks I know the reason why.

Reshaping the Roster

As of June 11^th the Mets 40-man roster stands at 39 which includes the recent expulsion of Adrian Gonzalez and the swapping of AAAA players Jose Lobaton and Ty Kelly.  Now the Mets have a chance to do something to help their roster but it would be at the expense of some financial flexibility, so it won’t happen.  If a minor league ballplayer is on the 40-man roster and must hit the equivalent of the 60-day DL, the player still occupies a spot on the 40-man roster.  However, if they promote a player to the majors, then send him to the 60-day DL then that spot is freed up for someone else.  Reliever Jamie Callahan sidelined since April 22^nd is going to undergo shoulder surgery and is likely done for the season.  If the Mets allow him to do so as a Las Vegas 51, then he occupies one of those spots.  If they promote him and then disable him, he would not.  Of course, that would burn an option for 2018 and thus is likely not going to happen even if they could sneak it past the MLBPA. 

Anyway, with at least one spot open on the 40-man roster and a few other folks with tenuous grips at best (I'm looking at you, Marcos Molina and you, Hansel Robles), there is room to add Jeff McNeill to help with the current need with an ailing Asdrubal Cabrera and a possible future need with Todd Frazier theoretically getting some time across the diamond at 1B.