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9/14/22

Reese Kaplan -- Unexpected Offense From the Forgotten Three


Did you ever have one of those days when your old car that normally refuses to start when you're on a deadline to be somewhere not only turns right over but purrs like a kitten, escorting you to where you want to be ahead of schedule?

Lately the Mets have been something like that but the old cars in question were named The Escobar and The Nido and The McCann when you were clearly ready to ship them all off to the great scrap heap.  

While everyone has been counting on Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and others to propel the offense forward to victory, no one gave much thought (other than negative) to these three models, yet it is very much the efforts of the never-count-on-'em trio that has helped the team move forward in this ever tightening race for the NL East

Taking a look at the numbers, first let's consider Eduardo Escobar.  In his best ever season as a pro, he once gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a .269 average accompanied by 35 HRs and 118 RBIs.  That 2019 season when Escobar turned 30 was one for the ages.  While his 2020 was understandably cut short by the onset of the COVID epidemic, his 2021 split between Arizona and Milwaukee was pretty good.  

The numbers were all down a little, but he hit .253 with 28 HRs and 90 RBIs earning him his first All Star berth.  It was this kind of performance that made the Mets sign him to a two year deal with an option for a third at a rate of about $10 million per season which seemed like a bargain rate given his over 2.0 WAR rating.  The standard math is that each WAR whole number is worth about $8 million, so $10 million to get $16 million of value seemed like a savvy investment.

We all know, unfortunately, how the 2022 season turned out.  Between slumps and injuries, Escobar was at solid risk of losing at least half of his job to the light hitting Luis Guillorme whose own health problems have kept him out of the lineup.  Even when Escobar returned, people were more anxious to see what Brett Baty could do rather than what Escobar had been doing.  

All of the sudden the streaky Esobar's switch flipped and he started performing like an All Star.  Since the Washington Series started on September 2nd, Escobar has been hitting a cool .500.  He's added 5 HRs and 9 RBIs over that 9-day period and actually started to reignite some of the positivity fans had when he was signed. 

Then there is the two-headed catcher known as McCanNido.  Up until recently the Mets were looking for the awesome bats of Charlie O'Brien or Josh Thole to help propel them forward as both of the shared starting catchers were struggling to hit the Mendoza line.  

Then all of the sudden the McCann half caught fire.  Starting with the Yankees series McCann has hit .360 since August 22nd.  The run production is not really all there, but a .360 hitter is certainly worthy of being in the lineup.

Now Tomas Nido has earned fans' respect for his defensive skills and his ability to bunt successfully, but his hitting has been pretty much non-existent ll year long. However, starting with the Padres series a month earlier than McCann's reawakening, Nido has been offensively on fire (by Nido standards).  Including Sunday's stellar game, Nido is hitting .285 with his season's first home run in that game.  


No matter how you slice it, it's time to sound the trumpets not just for Edwin Diaz but also in salute to three of the seeming offensive lightweights when the team needs the effort the most.  There are still DH villains to persecute for their lack of effort, but it's time to salute Escobar, McCann and Nido for all that they've done lately.  The pennant chasing Mets sure needed it. 

8 comments:

  1. When I saw Marte went out, with his very high offensive capabilities, I knew the Mets were in deep doo doo offensively.

    Nice to have those 3 hitting better, but the main guys other than McNeil have dried up, and Pete lost his first inning 2 run HR by inches as it curved foul.

    And Vogelbach, Naquin, and Ruf? A Black Hole.

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  2. Those three deserved all of the criticism they got earlier in the year and it is nice to see them finally start putting bat on ball. Hopefully this helps their confidence.

    I agree with Tom though, that the bottom guys hitting does not make up for the top guys not hitting. Too many runners left on base when Lindor and Alonso are not driving them in. I do miss Marte, but in his absense, the elevation of Lindor to 2 hitter and McNeil to 3 is setting the lineup where it should be. If Nimmo won't steal bases, then Marte should lead off upon his return. Put Nimmo and Canha behind Pete and let the DH settle to the bottom until one or more of those guys pull out of their respective slumps.

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  3. Paul, no one talks about him in the context of a call up, but I would consider rousting the Rickety Ruf and calling up Jake Mangum, .330 in 91 AAA at bats (.300 overall) with speed and defense.

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  4. To me, the key weakness has been the Polar Bear who basically has been hibernating since the break (and the HR Derby).

    In between his few HRs, he has turned into "Mr. GB". While some of his grounders have gone through for hits, most have been turned into outs or, worse, DPs.

    He's had multiple opps to drive in runners at key moments, but has turned most of them into outs.

    Even with our best hitter, the Squirrel, finally having been moved to near the top of the order, runners are mostly left stranded.

    Yes, the offenders have been multiple, but if Pete were doing half of what EE and the Catchers have been, these weak teams with equally weak pitchers would be prey instead of predators.

    It's beyond time for the hibernation to end. Save the sleep for the Winter.

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  5. So you have a guy hitting .268 with 34 HRs and 110 RBIs who you think is to blame for the Mets' overall offensive problems? Geez...what else did you want him to do?

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  6. Check Pete's numbers since the all star break. Pedestrian at best. He was having a fantastic first half and putting himself in the MVP race, but since the break he has struggled mightily. He's chasing pitches out of the zone and stopped going the other way. He is certainly not the one to put all the blame on, the DH's have been beyond pathetic. Vientos needs to be the DH from now til the end of the regular season, inmy opionion

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  7. Jon G and Bill, first I agree on Vientos getting a chance to DH. See if he can handle it. If not, I'd call up Mangum.

    I also wonder how many long drives, like the one last night by Pete just missed being a HR and ended up instead as an out, and how that could be deflating, rightly or wrongly. He sure looked disturbed early on last night. Subject of my article today.

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