Reese Kaplan -- Rojas Redux or Rojas Run Out of Town?

Questions about the 2021 season have arisen about the composition of the roster.  Obviously pitching is a black hole for the Mets both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen.  Then there are issues regarding who will be catching, who will be playing centerfield and how do you juggle all of the good bats who also happen to be bad gloves or in need of periodic rest.  People have expressed a desire to see Brodie Van Wagenen shown the door (which is entirely possible with the return of Sandy Alderson).  However, the one area where no one is definitely taking one side or the other is the fate of last minute manager, Luis Rojas.

 

Just yesterday Mike Steffanos debated whether or not Rojas deserves a full season with a more normal roster to demonstrate what he is or is not capable of doing.  He had to struggle through the ever changing collection of active and inactive ballplayers while trying to ascertain who belongs on the field and at what defensive position.  Between injuries, illnesses and opt-outs, he had quite a challenge to tackle.  Throw in the various pitching options they were forced to use (including monstrously bad seasons from Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha and Steven Matz in the rotation), well, you can see that newcomer Rojas probably aged another 10 years in this 60-game season.

 

Now how much of the awful in-game results were Rojas' fault and how much due to circumstances he was dealt is a matter of much debate.  If you are asked to trot out the likes of people like Paul Sewald, Franklyn Kilome or Corey Oswalt in game-on-the-line situations, well, that's not really something you can blame on the manager. 

 

When it became clear that Jeurys Familia was not getting it done (yet again), why was his paycheck the motivating factor allowing him to ruin possible game victories?  Some would say that the decision to use him in this role was Rojas' own.  Others insist it was a mandate from the front office to put the $10 million man into his 8th inning setup role.  His overall work was not nearly as bad in 2020 as it was in 2019, but a 3.71 ERA and nearly 1.5 baserunners per inning pitched is not what you consider shutdown material.  

 

The opposite situation happened with formerly infallible reliever Seth Lugo.  He was doing his usual bang-up business out of the pen, but when the starting rotation fell apart he was moved into that role where he previously struggled when they experimented with the fragile armed reliever in previous years.  This season was the worst yet as he finished with an awful 5.15 ERA and a similar struggle keeping people off base as plagued Familia.  Yet to hear many fans in 2021 discourse, they think the rotation is where Lugo belongs.  Those same folks must have loved the Wilpons and Terry Collins who were clear examples of folks who kept doing what wasn't working in the hopes that somehow a more positive fate would emerge.

 

So, going back to Rojas, how did he do?  On the plus side, he was quick to install younger players who were doing well in place of folks who were not.  Look at the output of Andres Gimenez vs. what little was delivered by Amed Rosario who appeared totally lost this season.  His use of suspect catchers was not so much his intuitive notion of potential success, but a nod to the weakness of Wilson Ramos, injury to Rene Rivera and being forced to play whatever cards that were dealt.  Somehow Robinson Chirinos and Tomas Nido do not look like long term solutions, but he didn't exactly have access to Salvador Perez or J.T. Realmuto when he needed a catcher.

 

On the outfield front, wow, what a mess!  Michael Conforto had a great offensive season and conducted himself sufficiently with the glove.  After that it was an outfield often best viewed from behind a firing squad's black band around one's eyes.  Jeff McNeil was adequate out there, but Brandon Nimmo, Dom Smith and J.D. Davis all had their struggles when they weren't at bat.  We won't even get into the many also-rans who are no longer part of the team.  

 

I would have to hand some kudos to Rojas for flip-flopping former DH Smith with former 1st baseman Pete Alonso when he realized he could do less harm to the game with Smith at 1B and Alonso's bat would still be in the lineup.  Of course, if the DH remains, that's a long term question to answer.  If not, he's kind of back to square one.  

 

You also have to wonder why he felt compelled to use the likes of Todd Frazier when .333 hitting Luis Guillorme sat on the bench.  Is it once again having the front office dictating yet again that salary demands playing time or were these starting assignments a Terry Collins-like head scratcher out of Rojas' own noggin?  I haven't seen enough of Rojas to condemn him, but there are certainly some questionable blunders.

 

I'm of the opinion that you can't look to change both the GM and the field manager at the same time and hope to get any consistency.  I'd opt to keep one and trash one.  Given the choice, I'd say Rojas demands more slack than Van Wagenen and he should have one more-or-less normal season to show what he can do.  Van Wagenen has been mostly bad, though not nearly as horrible as many would purport.  Reports abound that Cohen is not enamored with him and if someone has to go, then I would show Brodie the door.