Reese Kaplan -- Look At Me, I Can Be Center Field (Or Not)

One of the great unanswered questions for the NY Mets appears to be one they seemingly have not asked.  Who is going to be the everyday center fielder?  

After all, when the overtures towards now-Canadian George Springer went unanswered and the salary demands of glove man Jackie Bradley, Jr. seem excessive, it appeared that the Mets were willing to settle for what they had last year between Dom Smith in left and Michael Conforto in right.

Brandon Nimmo is a bit of a conundrum among fans.  His ever present smile and his full bore enthusiasm for the game are not even debatable.  His careful working of the count that leads to his stellar on-base percentage is also beyond reproach.  

He’s shown home run power and speed, but neither in eye popping amounts.  Still, as a competent hitter and table setter he’s on many fans’ lists as a pure starter.

However, if you dive deeper into his game, you start to see the flaws rise chillingly to the surface.  His defense which seemed more than adequate in the corner outfield positions was exposed horrifically during his 2020 foray into Willie Mays wannabe territory.  

He was the sole possessor of the rating for being the worst center fielder in all of baseball during the abbreviated 2020 season.  That’s ironic in that center field is the easiest outfield role to play.  His throws were at best adequate and his communication with the defensively challenged left fielder rotation was not too impressive.  His jumps have always been substandard and they seemed to get worse the more he played center.  

Still, like J.D. Davis at third base, Pete Alonso at first base and Dom Smith in left field, many fans figure if the offense is there then you simply live with the defense.  Let’s take a closer look.  

As a hitter, Nimmo’s finest output came during the 2018 season when he hit 17 HRs, drove in 47, stole 9 bases and hit a respectable .263.  He earned 4.2 WAR for his overall performance based primarily on his all around offensive game with an enviable on base percentage of .404.  It looked as if he might build on that fine foundation, but it was not the case.

In 2019 he slipped to single digits in home runs, just 3 stolen bases and an ugly .221 batting average.  In 2020 he was not much better.  The batting average soared to .280 but he hit 8 HRs and drove in only 18.  For 2021 he’s projected to hit .252 with 18 HRs and 53 RBIs while stealing 6.  Those numbers are not bad, but if you’re the worst center fielder in all of baseball, it’s not nearly enough offense to compensate.  

Now the Mets did add two center fielders during this Cohen rookie off-season.  The one that caught most folks’ eyes first was the walking enigma, Albert Almora, Jr.  He’s a career .271 hitter with even less power and speed than Nimmo.  However, what he does bring to the field is very strong defense.  Right now it would appear his role is the new version of Juan Lagares as a late-inning replacement for leather-challenged regulars.

The more recent addition of Kevin Pillar was somewhat surprising in that the Mets already got the strong glove in Almora and Pillar who used to be among the best is now slipping to merely average at best when it comes to defense.  In his last full season in 2019 he hit 21 HRs with 88 RBIs while managing to hit .259 with 14 stolen bases.  Don’t look now, but those numbers are better than what lefty Nimmo ever achieved, so there might be a real open competition for more than a platoon role during Spring Training.

Of course, there are still free agents and trade prospects out there who could man centerfield for the Mets, but it would appear right now that they are not improved much in this black hole from 2020.  Nimmo will be the frontrunner due to his familiarity to the club and the other players, but don’t be surprised to see Pillar sneak into the fray.