Reese Kaplan -- How Best to Play Out the String

With the trading deadline having come and gone with minimal action for the Mets, it’s time to look ahead to August where they may be some waiver wire players being showcased for deals and then to September when all bets are off and the club SHOULD be playing all of its kids to see if they could be a part of the future.

August

Devin Mesoraco and Jose Bautista would seem to headline the Waiver Wire Wonders.  What that means is that as much as you’d like to see Kevin Plawecki get a steady diet of ABs to determine if he’s indeed turned an offensive corner, Mesoraco’s contract is expiring and he could potentially help a contender in their playoff push.  Consequently I think you’ll see him getting more of the load than Plawecki until he departs.

Jose Bautista’s presence in the lineup should be fairly steady at the expense of new comer Austin Aoki.  Although Brandon Nimmo is slumping and Michael Conforto’s recent surge still has him performing at a below average (for him) level, that leaves just one outfield position for two over-the-hill players.  Kevin Kaczmarski has been purged from the 40-man roster despite providing offense to the tune of .357.  Nah, the team doesn’t need that offense…after all, they have no trouble scoring runs, right?  Besides, Austin Jackson and his -1.4 WAR score really needs to play…

That being said, Bautista has shown some power if not much else during his Mets tenure.  Ironically people are praising the job he’s doing as a Met – a (cough, cough) heady .219 with 6 HRs and 24 RBIs.  He has drawn 38 walks but otherwise despite his positive press clippings, he’s been a waste of roster space. 

By contrast the same people were ready to ride Adrian Gonzalez out of town, lighting the way with torches when he provided .237/6/26 in the exact same number of ABs.  Here’s a hint, Stooges, NEITHER ONE is part of the future, NEITHER ONE should have been put on the roster in first place and NEITHER ONE did anything to warrant being there.  Take a lesson from Gonzalez and cut Bautista loose or trade him for the proverbial bag of balls. 

Actually, after failing to run out a passed ball on strike three, the Mets have a low-risk way to send a powerful message to the rest of the team and the fans that they won't tolerate people who simply phone it in without effort.  Cut him immediately and declare that is why.  Whatever happened to the narrative about changing the culture, anyway?

Another waiver wire possibility is Jerry Blevins, but his very poor performance until lately might be off-putting to other teams.

September

There’s a theory being bandied about that the reason they’re keeping Jose Reyes around is the slimmest hope that both he and David Wright can play an inning together before both limping off into the sunset.  Yup, that would sell some jerseys and tickets, but it’s that shortsighted thinking instead of seeing who can be part of the future that condemns the team to the second division year after year.

Assuming they do dispatch both Mesoraco and Bautista in some fashion during August, then in September you would likely want to see a lineup that includes Peter Alonso and Dominic Smith.  To do so would force Smith to the outfield ahead of Norichiki Jackson, or he would be a platoon partner at 1^st base. 

In either case it would mean a return to the bench for the team’s most productive hitter, Wilmer Flores.  Although I’ve long been Flores’ biggest supporter, I can see the rationale for doing so.  His glove has been worse lately than ever at arguably the least challenging position.  The raw power of Alonso is enticing (as is his minimum wage salary).  Flores will be pushing the $4 million threshold next season and the small-market Mets may not want to commit that much to a role player (since they’re already saddled with a $9 million one in Juan “DL” Lagares).  Perhaps there is an AL team in need of a DH who would find Flores a good fit.

Second base should belong to Jeff McNeil for the rest of the season now that Todd Frazier is back at 3B.  Frazier may or may not be a part of the 2019 team.  His contract is minimal enough that the cost wouldn’t dissuade another team, but at the same time his production this year might. 

Kevin Plawecki will be in his September “do or die” position of showing whether or not, as Mickey Callaway offered, he can be a number one catcher.  Travis d’Arnaud is likely a non-tender candidate next year as his TJS will make him unavailable for the earlier part of the season.  Perhaps in doing so they might retain him but at a lower salary level since he cannot play and has not played more than he has since coming to the organization.  Tomas Nido has had a nice offensive year in AA but won't get to demonstrate what he can do against big league pitching unless Terry II actually pencils him into the lineup regularly.

On the pitching front you need to see Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler for sure.  Jason Vargas, despite his odiferous performance, needs to pitch in order to ascertain whether or not he should be a part of the roster next year.  (I know, I know – the Wilpons don’t cut people loose and recognize the concept of a sunk cost.  If they did, Jose Reyes would be long gone, too). 

With Steven Matz on the shelf it once again raises the question or who belongs in the extra starting rotation slot.  The Mets are likely to go with Seth Lugo and test drive another failed reliever.  The smarter move would seem to be Corey Oswalt who was doing well, so naturally was banished to the minors.  In either case, you need to see Lugo and/or Oswalt as much as possible to determine whether or not trading away one of the top three starters would create a hole in the Mets’ ozone that can’t be fixed with duct tape.   

The current Mets bullpen is, to be charitable, a work in progress.  Anthony Swarzak seems to be getting the closing opportunities, but that’s a bit shortsighted as he was signed to be a setup guy, not THE guy.  One would think Bobby Wahl and/or Drew Smith should get the call to see how they respond to the challenge.  Wahl needs to harness his control lest he be less “Wild Thing” and more “Smoker”.  Josh had posted similar strikeout numbers but wasn’t able to succeed on K’s alone. 

The rest of the pen has been on the Vegas shuttle most of the year, including Paul Sewald, Tyler Bashlor, Tim Peterson, Jacob Rhame and Gerson Bautista.  I know there’s some implicit pressure to see Rhame, Bautista and others from the 2017 fire sale succeed, but silly me thinks you want to play the people getting it done, not trying to justify your poor judgment. 

At one interval earlier in the year Robert Gsellman was Mr. Automatic, effortlessly retiring whomever he faced.  Then he hit a wall but has had some good outings of late, too.  I'm not sure what role he has for 2019 but he might be someone to test drive as a closer, too.  

Of course, the Mets being the Mets will likely play a September lineup that includes the likes of Jose Reyes and Austin Jackson, with Swarzak continuing to get the call as closer.