Reese Kaplan -- Mets Borrowing From Peter to Pay Paul?

 

The news about Jose Martinez’ knee injury isn’t new.  Everyone is aware of his collision with the umpire that caused a torn meniscus and at minimum four months of recovery (if not the whole season).  I always feel bad when a player gets a long-term injury from something that is not a foolhardy effort on his part.  It’s surely not the first time it’s happened, and it won’t be the last.

Stories abound about the prospect of the Mets signing Maikel Franco who is yet unsigned.  He’s one of those free agents still searching for a gig as his play is good but not great and his reputation for defense is rather shoddy.  As a result, no matter what he does with the bat he’s going to be penalized for his glove.  His best year he earned a 1.8 WAR and last year a 1.1 with Kansas City.  In his best season he hit 25 HRs and drove in 88 while hitting .255, but that only got him a 0.6 WAR score. 

As disenchanted as many are with J.D. Davis and his own defensive problems, the fact is he has more power but less of a track record than Franco.  In his entire career he’s had 765 ABs (which is a bit more than one full season), clubbed 33 HRs and drove in 88 while hitting .268.  His best season on the WAR metric was 2019 for the Mets when he hit 22 of those long balls, drove in 57 and batted .307, yet only got a score of 1.0. 

So the question is whether or not Maikel Franco is a good replacement option for Jose Martinez?  Martinez wasn’t exactly a wizard with the glove either, but his bat has been very good for a few years.  He started a bit late in the majors but in a single season would average 16 HRs, 68 RBIs and batting .289 while playing often though not quite full time.  It’s certainly possible that Franco can replace most of that offense at a somewhat lower batting average.

However, step back and take a look at the third base question.  Right now, in addition to J.D. Davis, the Mets also have free agent signee Jonathan Villar and young veteran infielder Luis Guillorme.  Villar has bounced between shortstop, second base and a handful of appearances at third base with even a couple in the outfield.  He does bring decent defense and versatility.  In a given season as a fulltime player he could be expected to deliver 16 HRs, 55 RBIs and a .259 average.  In addition to what he does in the field, he will also swipe 42 bases. 

Guillorme is a defensive whiz who doesn’t offer much in terms of speed or power, but his batting average is improving.  Last season he hit .333 and his minor league average was three times over the .300 mark.  He’s not anyone’s first choice to start every day, but he’s surely a valuable commodity off the bench and in late innings for defensive replacement.

The Mets tend to skew somewhat left-heavy with their hitting, so the desire to have some good right handed options makes sense.  Guillorme is left handed.  Villar is a switch hitter but does most of his work from the left side. 

Last season Franco pulled down just under $3 million by playing for Kansas City after leaving Philadelphia.  As a fulltime player he his .278 with 8 HRs and 38 RBIs in just over 1/3 of a season.  It’s interesting to me that KC did not make any effort to keep him, so perhaps the defensive issues are too much of a red flag. 

While no one has launched a guess as to contract term or rate, it would seem to me he’s not a terrific fit for the Mets unless they intend to bundle J.D. Davis off in a trade somewhere.  He would cost triple the salary for inferior offensive production.  

What am I not seeing here?