Reese Kaplan -- Final Roster Decisions Need to be Made

Well, it’s now less than two weeks until the start of the 2020 season and people are starting to get more a sense of who will be a part of the team.  For now we’ll leave out the “Where’s Waldo?” trio of Brad Brach, Robinson Cano and Jared Hughes out of the discussion.  But the Mets have added liberally to the roster and now stand at 58 out of 60 possible names.  (Late addition -- Cano lives, but no explanation has been given for his absence nor for his preparedness for the season).

Right now there is ongoing discussion about who will be in the starting lineup if indeed Cano is on hiatus for unspecified reasons.  Most favor Jeff McNeil to play 2B and J.D. Davis at 3B.  While this approach is certainly good for the offense, the defense at 3B is going to recall bad memories.  Davis certainly showed what he was capable of doing with the bat, but his defense at 3B and LF were not anything to share on positive highlight videos on Youtube.

That deficiency thus opens up other possibilities into play for the infield.  Remember Jed Lowrie?  If he can ever get his leg brace to the sidelines, he was signed for his bat and he’s known to be a competent fielder.  His presence, surprising as it is, must be considered.  During his last full season in 2018 with Oakland he hit 23 HRs, drove in 99 and hit .267 for an OPS over .800 and a player value of 4.4 WAR.  You don’t generally pay someone $10 million to sit on the bench and often the size of a paycheck will surpass that individual’s qualifications to appear in the starting lineup.  I’m not saying Lowrie is washed up, but if he’s healthy he has a good track record as a contributor on both sides of the field.  That year he played primarily 2B but he also has history at SS and 3B as well.  

Then there are others who are possibilities who can be part of the equation.  Luis Guillorme has never been given a steady diet of playing time since arriving parts of the past few seasons in New York.  In the minors he held a reputation for a stellar, Gold Glove caliber defensive game with a .289 batting average with little power, few RBIs and nothing flashy about his stolen base totals.  So do you want a singles hitter who doesn’t run and can’t clear the fences with his bat taking ABs every single day?  Chances are Guillorme is a backup infielder for his entire career due to the deficiencies on the offensive side of his game.  His major league batting average thus far is just .227 but it should improve with regular play.  I don’t think it improves enough to warrant a starting assignment.

The interesting sideline addition to the Mets is one-time hot infield prospect Eduardo Nunez who has logged time with several teams.  In 2016, for example, he hit 16 HRs, drove in 67 runs and stole 40 bases.  Those are the kind of numbers to generate some serious attention.  Unfortunately, he’s a lot like J.D. Davis in that his game is not defined by his leather, but his bat and, in his case, his legs. His next year was pretty good, too, but it’s been downhill in 2018 and 2019.  Still, the potential for his output far outweighs what you would get from an at-his-peak Guillorme, though it is interesting that a non-roster invitation is the best he could garner.  

There are a number of other infield choices who are simply there to fill the roster. This group would include Gordon Beckham, Jake Hager and Max Moroff.  There’s not much to say to defend any of these choices being in Queens unless there were an unprecedented number of illnesses and injuries plaguing the major league team.  If this roster change took place then the club is merely going through 2020 as an extended exhibition season. 

Of course, the infield equation is only part of the decision making process.  Many folks feel that given his slow healing from leg injuries Yoenis Cespedes is frontrunner to play National League DH.  If so, that opens up LF for some platoon of J.D. Davis and Dom Smith.  Like Guillorme, few ever want to see Jake Marisnick playing regularly except as a late inning defensive replacement.  If you are slating Davis for the outfield then the infield must be resolved somehow.  I guess in the next couple of weeks an answer of some kind will emerge.