Reese Kaplan -- Is BVW Developing Hemorrhoids?

We’ve all heard the phrase"Addition by Subtraction".  It’s used to describe the state of improvement that’s possible when adding new talent isn’t the approach taken, but instead success is achieved by removing the subpar talent to improve the roster composition overall.  Right now that appears to be the only types of transactions BVW is making to improve the state of the ballcllub.  Sitting around and doing nothing can be hazardous not only to one's health but also to a team's position in the standings.

As the Mets spiral quickly from division leaders to mediocrity there has been quite a bit of addition by subtraction already due to injury.  The bullpen alone has seen Jeurys Familia and Luis Avilan felled by injuries.  They were both pitching as if their ailments indeed were hampering their success.  As bad as they were, ANYTHING the Mets get from the parade of replacements is likely going to represent an improvement.

Some indicate a removal of one or both of the spare outfielders – Keon Broxton and Juan Lagares – would also represent addition by subtraction.  The elder speedster Rajai Davis has been hot of late in AAA and wouldn’t cost a fortune to promote.  Is BVW ready to admit he was wrong in acquiring the speedy but whiff-prone Broxton?  Is he ready to eat another of Sandy Alderson’s mistakes in Juan Lagares?  Probably not.

Now you have also had injuries to other players like Justin Wilson who had been pitching well and Sunday you lost Jason Vargas early with hamstring tightness.  I can’t believe I’m going to type these words, but Jason Vargas might be tough shoes to fill.  Over his last four starts he has pitched a total of 18 innings which makes stats easy to compile on a per-game basis.  During that stretch he’s allowed 6 earned runs with 12 hits, fanned 17 and walked eight.  That’s a 3.00 ERA, 6 hits and nearly a strikeout per IP with 4 walks per game – not the stuff of Cy Young Awards, but way better than you have a right to expect from a 5^th starter (and far better than we’ve seen from this flawed free agent signing).  Now word is out that Steven Matz has his annual injury, returning to NY to have his forearm examined.

Of course, the opposite has been known to occur as well, when you subtract players who have been performing well in order to give opportunities to inferior ones.  Nearly everyone seems to feel they can live with J.D. Davis’ defense given his offense rather than the sub-Mendoza Todd Frazier.  The .333 hitting Dom Smith was sent upstate to make room for the good glove/no bat Adeiny Hechavarria. 

Ummm, why?

Some say the reasoning had to do with Smith getting steady ABs to let him continue to develop as a hitter.  He was only getting sporadic assignments off the bench or on the odd days Pete Alonso was asked to take a seat.  There was the issue of the contract provisions for Hechavarria which would allow him to become a free agent if the club did not add him to the big league roster by Friday, May 3^rd.  If you also said he was going to play the OF regularly down there to increase his versatility then perhaps I could buy into it.  As it is, they left themselves with an all right-handed bench that doesn’t improve when Jed Lowrie returns as it pushes Todd Frazier there as well.  The conventional thinking is that he’s preparing to increase his trade value.

Right now the Mets are pretty much trying the old spaghetti trick of throwing relief pitchers against the wall and seeing who sticks.  We’ve seen Drew Gagnon, Chris Flexen, Corey Oswalt, Tim Peterson, Daniel Zamora, Ryan O’Rourke and Tyler Bashlor get the ball.  For some it’s too soon to make the yay/nay call.  Others have failed consistently. 

There’s certainly room for additions to the roster.  Frazier gets his opportunities due to the size of his paycheck.  Nimmo gets his due to his solid year in 2018.   Juan Lagares is here primarily because no one is stupid enough to pay $9 million for what he delivers (except, of course, Sandy Alderson).  Broxton is here because they gave up three people to get him.  They saw enough of Travis d’Arnaud and parted ways.  Here’s hoping BVW isn’t going to offer up a premature, “Mission Accomplished” banner and sit on his, ahem, laurels while improvements can indeed be made.