For the most part Brodie Van Wagenen has proven to be a man
of his word when it came to roster construction. He was adamant from the beginning if Pete
Alonso had a strong spring he could make the opening day roster regardless of
the service time implications. Much to
many folks’ surprise that’s exactly what happened.
His decision to include Tomas Nido is out of necessity given
the deteriorating Devin Mesoraco situation.
Apparently he wanted to set a precedent that no player was going to
dictate to the GM who was going to be on the roster and who would not. Rene Rivera takes the spot slotted for
Mesoraco in Syracuse.
However, there are a few quibbles with who’s coming north
and how they plan to be used. Stories
came out from Sandy Alderson pick Mickey Callaway about how he intends to use Juan
Lagares not only on opening day but also frequently throughout the season. Really?
What offense does he provide? He’s
a career .260 hitter without power or significant speed. This spring he couldn’t buy a hit until the
last week or so, still not hitting his modest weight.
Keon Broxton showed he is Lagares’ equal with the glove,
provides greater power and speed. His
biggest issue has been strikeouts, but he has a new contact-oriented hitting
coach this season who, in a small sample size, was able to get the big man to
hit over .300. So why go with the proven
mediocrity rather than the guy coming off a hot spring with the potential to do
better? Oh, right…Lagares earns $9
million and Broxton makes minimum. You
can’t have $9 million salaried players sitting on the bench, even if they are
inferior. I wonder what happens when
Todd Frazier returns if Alonso is hitting well?
Do you bench the big man due to salary considerations, too?
However, the one that rubbed me the wrong way was the last
minute promotion of Tim Peterson to the bullpen after he’d already been a
relatively early casualty to send to the minor league complex. Peterson had a credible spring and at times
showed good performance but seemed to falter after overuse last season. He was Paul Sewald bad, with a 6.18 ERA with
a .261 BAA. That’s pretty bad no matter
how you slice it. His 2017 minor league
numbers across a few levels were outstanding.
His 2018 minor league numbers were impressive given the PCL environment
with a .199 BAA, a 3.49 ERA and great control.
If you believed that the best players would come north (a’la Luis Guillorme over Adeiny Hechavarria and Danny Espinosa) then why wasn’t Ryan O’Rourke a consideration for that last bullpen slot? His minor league numbers over the past few years were excellent as he works his way back from arm woes. In 2018, for example, across 4 levels he appeared in 15 games and pitched to a 1.26 ERA. This spring he picked up right where he left off with a 1.74 ERA across the spring. He was one of the last folks sent to the minor league side due to his effective pitching, yet when the decision to cut Kyle Dowdy loose came about, the Mets didn’t go with the strongest contender as they did with Luis Avilan, but instead visited the 40-man roster and said, “Who can we assign as the last man in the pen?” Voila – Tim Peterson.
Don’t get me wrong.
Peterson has shown flashes of dominance and he was very gracious to me
when I interviewed him in El Paso when they were in town to play the Chihuahuas. I was just surprised that BVW was indeed
truthful about the other roster battles and this one smacks of a business
decision rather than a “put the best team on the field” position as it would
require creating a 40-man roster spot for O’Rourke. Considering some of the AAAA types occupying
slots there, it doesn’t seem like it would have been that difficult to do. I wish both Peterson and O’Rourke the
greatest success wherever they play and it’s possible they could flip-flop at
some point during the 2019 season.
8 comments:
Crystal ball says Lagares will slip on soap soon, and O'Rourke will shuttle in as well. And box score says Jake doesn't need Mesoraco. All is well! 161 more.
I was very surprised the Mets jettison Dowdy, who had pitched well his last 2 times out over 7 innings. I thought they would keep him and see how it goes, and send Peterson down, with the option at any time to call Peterson up.
Lagares should not be starting over Broxton - the only reason seems to be if they can gin up some value in him by the time Lowrie returns (hopefully by May 1) and some team needs an OF, where the Mets don't have to eat Juan's whole contract.
I hope in the next game, Broxton starts - actually, if Strasburg is pitching, I'd prefer to see Dom Smith get an OF start...get that lefty bat in there.
but, But, BUT that would take creativity and forethought...thus far not attributes in MC's arsenal. I'd even settle for Luis Guillorme at 3B and Jeff McNeil in the OF.
Morning Reese...
Sadly, I agree with you on Lagares. He is not the baby boy in camp anymore and I believer his time in a Mets uniform has past.
Mack, Lagares is not the skinny boy that first came up either. He is listed at 215 - and seems (at least the game I went to) to have a thickening midsection. Some Baerga Blubber, perhaps? Carlos Baerga faded young - I would not at all be surprised to see Juan fade fast.
Reese, true - why not a few Guillorme games at 3rd and the Amazing Jeff McNeil in the outfield?
I am glad that we can move on from Lagares after this year.......BVW will really have to sell the Wilpons on eating that much cash, but you have to wonder if it was his plan (i.e. the redundant acquisition of Broxton).
What will be interesting is when Lowrie and/or Frazier are ready to go.
Never say never, but I’d be really surprised if Smith ever gets an outfield start this year. That experiment was deemed a failure and he took no reps there this spring. With a renewed emphasis on defense, it seems unlikely that they would go with someone who clearly has little feel for playing the outfield (as opposed to McNeil, who seemingly can do anything.) I agree that it would be nice to get his bat in the lineup, but one thing the Mets have is lefty batters, so it won’t be as if his non-presence hurts them in a major way. They’re more likely to start Guillorme at third as a fifth lefty and move McNeil to left.
Dave, good point - I know Smith said he worked on his outfield skills this off season, but as you said, no time in games this spring out there.
If Luis G gets opportunities, he has to make the most of them.
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