Reese Kaplan -- Pitching Isn't The Only Mets 2021 Need

Be honest.  If someone had offered you a wager prior to the belated beginning of this unique and bizarre season in which it was suggested that the Mets' offense would greatly outshadow their pitching, you'd surely jump on that bet, digging deep into your spare reserves of cash for what appeared to be easy money.  Wow, how wrong you would have been.  For a club whose history is laden with highlight reels worth of star pitching performances, other than Jacob deGrom and (SHOCKINGLY) Edwin Diaz, the rest of the staff in the rotation and in the bullpen have often done more harm than good.

 

On the flip side is the fact that no one but the New York Mets are atop the standings for team batting average led by a familiar face in Jeff McNeil, but also by some unfamiliar ones like Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith and (YES) Robinson Cano.  Through injury, illness and performance there has been an awful lot of manipulation of the lineup by manager Luis Rojas, and with rare exception whatever button he pushes for the bats appears to be working.  

 

So while a great many of us have already lamented, speculated and fretted over what the 2021 pitching rotation will look like with only Jacob deGrom most definitely penciled into the number one position of the starting five, a great many others are likely gone through free agency, incompetence or price.  I'm not going to dwell once again on this quandary as there are other issues to dissect as well.

 

Going into next season the Mets need to figure out what to do with their outfield once and for all.  Michael Conforto is a reputable fielder most at home in right.  After that entry into the lineup sheet, it's anyone's guess who will work alongside him.  

 

In centerfield the Mets have, out of necessity, given the majority of the starts to Brandon Nimmo (with occasional poor attempts by Juan Lagares, Billy Hamilton, Guillermo Heredia and a limping, wounded Jake Marisnick.  The latter three provided defense but not much else.  (To be fair in his very limited time at the plate Marisnick was swinging well, but hamstring issues in both legs pretty much ended his Mets career).  

 

The problem with Brandon Nimmo is that he's rivaling Todd Hundley, Roger Cedeno and other not-so-great outfielders in Mets history when it comes to the defensive side of the game.  To be fair he's hitting and getting on base like previous years, but it's difficult to build a case he belongs out there.  Right now he's hitting .282, has a .405 OBP and a .502 SLG average.  Those are indeed good numbers, but if he's costing you games with his glove then you have to question if he truly belongs out there.  

 

Jeff McNeil has been relegated to a frequent outfield starting position due to Robinson Cano's All-Star caliber hitting in 2020.  He's competent in left field and could probably man right field but he's not a centerfielder.  

 

J.D. Davis has been a bit thinner with the offensive numbers this year than last year.  His defense in the outfield if anything seems even worse.  However, his third base numbers are not as gut wrenching as they used to be.  Would you be better with him at 3B and Jeff McNeil in LF?  

 

Well, there's another problem to solve named Dominic Smith.  I won't rehash the numbers but suffice to say if he delivered for a full season what he's done in this abbreviated one, then he would most definitely be in the conversation for quite a few MVP votes.  The difficulty here is that he's not any better in the outfield than J.D. Davis and first base has Pete Alonso's name engraved on it.  Granted, in this DH-supplemented year, Rojas has taken to inserting Smith at 1B and Alonso at DH, but that option may not exist in 2020.  

 

So what do you do?  Do you trade away one or more of these poor fits to get people who are more suited to the role you want them to play?  George Springer, for example, is a real centerfielder and he has certainly shown the offensive capability to look forward to his at-bats every few innings.  That combination of skills (plus three straight All Star appearances) suggests anyone looking to secure him for a long range deal is going to be looking well north of the $20 million per season mark.  Considering how many pitchers the Mets need, that much cash may not be sitting around available to solve the outfield dilemma.  

 

The same issue exists in the trade market.  Getting a hot hand to take over centerfield is going to cost some money and player resources to bring to fruition.  Maybe you take a chance on a lower level player like Joc Pederson who is coming off an awful 2020 after consecutive years posting 25 and 36 HRs.  Then your "spare" players can be used as parts of trades to obtain much needed pitching.  

 

There are no outfielders in the system you can project to become a part of the Mets in 2021 with Jared Kelenic now on the other coast and no real minor league season this year to ascertain how anyone has progressed.  Some advocate converting Amed Rosario to play CF, but he might be needed to land a quality pitcher if you really believe that Andres Gimenez is the SS of the future.  The outfield is most definitely a Cespedes-less mess and whomever is in charge next year had better pay as much attention to it as he does to the pitching problems.