Paul Articulates – The Mets “to-do” list

There are numerous articles throughout the press, social media, and on Mack’s Mets that talk about the list of things that the front office needs to accomplish this off-season.  This is not one of them.  You already know who the free agents are.  You have heard the rumors about who wants them and how much money they might make.  That is all speculation, and no one really knows what will happen until the rosters are set at the end of spring training.  So let’s concentrate on something more productive – what do the current Mets players and staff need to do to improve upon their breakout season in 2022?

Buck Showalter – Buck did a fine job managing the roster last year.  He kept players fresh and minimized injury by using the bench generously and keeping pitchers’ innings counts down.  He could improve upon his lineup construction, because there were many times this season that key hitters just weren’t up at the right time.  He was guilty of wishful thinking by placing a badly slumping Eduardo Escobar in the 5th or 6th position in the lineup for many months before finally moving him down.  He misused the MLB batting titlist by often hitting McNeil in the 8th position – no excuse for that because McNeil is fast enough to hit in front of almost anyone and capable enough with the bat to move runners when needed.  So Buck’s “to-do” is to study lineup construction and get the team into more favorable positions with RISP.

Eric Chavez – Eric did a fantastic job last year.  The Mets as a team batted .259 with a .744 OPS, compared to 2021, when they batted .239 with a .706 OPS.  That .259 was good enough to place 5th in MLB after a 23rd place finish the prior year.  He should get a lot of credit for the team’s approach to grinding down opposing pitchers with long at-bats and productive hits, causing constant stress to the other guys’ starters.  However, late in the year production went down.  It may be that other teams went to school on our approach, and started grooving more early strikes expecting Mets batters to take.  It is tough to grind out a long at-bat when down in the count, and we saw many occasions where batters made weak contact on tough balls to hit because they had to swing in 0-2 and 1-2 counts.  So Eric’s “to-do” is to work with batters throughout the season on adaptive hitting approaches that quickly tune to opposing pitchers’ strategies.  There’s lots of film to study from the months of September and October.

Brandon Nimmo – Nimmo needs to get a really good investment broker in New York, because he is going to get paid for years of hard work on improving his game.  Brandon was a fan favorite because of his smile and obvious love for the game, but he has now become a weapon in the field and at the plate.

Starling Marte – get a really good Yoga coach.  We can’t afford to have Marte miss 44 games next year with the dynamic skills he brings to the offense.  I know that Yoga can’t help a broken finger, but those pulled muscles should become a thing of the past.  This isn’t just an offensive need, but defense as well.  In 2022 Starling posted a career-low UZR rating of -8.1 which was most likely driven by an inability to go all-out in the field due to those nagging groin and hamstring injuries.  Thanks for playing through pain in so many ballgames, but we really want you to get to those balls that only you can reach.

Francisco Lindor – after a very impressive season where Francisco looked like the player everyone expected after the trade, there are few things that stand out as weaknesses.  However, it looked like he pressed too hard in clutch situations.  Many times down the stretch Lindor ended up in pitcher’s counts with RISP because he tried to do too much with early pitches that were tough to handle.  Remember that it’s not all up to you now – there is a strong team around you – so relax and play.

Pete Alonso – Great year, great numbers, but still plenty to work on for Pete.  After some very good improvement in chase rate, Pete regressed somewhat late in the year when the at-bats were higher pressure.  Pitchers fear Pete, and tend to pitch around him so often he was swinging at junk way off the plate.  He should take a page from McNeil’s book, hunting a pitch in a location where damage can be done, and laying off if it’s not right there.  This will lead to more favorable counts which is where Pete excelled this year with great power numbers.  In the field the effort is there but the timing is not – Pete ranked 34th in a 30 team league in Outs Above Average at first base.  His to-do  is to work on that timing.  There’s a guy in the booth named Keith that can help.

Jeff McNeil – After a tremendous turn-around at the plate, McNeil earned a batting title with an approach at the plate that emphasized his contact skills.  Nothing to do there but stay the course.  Jeff played some great defense in multiple positions which added great value to the team.  Hopefully Billy Eppler rewards this with a contract extension before free agency that pays McNeil for what he brings to this team.  With that, Jeff’s to-do is to relax and have fun playing baseball.  We all know Jeff is a perfectionist, but don’t need to see him stomp and curse after every out.  The smile brothers can help you here – Lindor, Nimmo, and Marte look like they are having fun every day.  If that doesn’t work, Vogelbach has a few jokes to loosen you up.

Eduardo Escobar – Eduardo has a long to-do list for this off-season.  He had a fabulous close to the year with many clutch hits, fulfilling his promise to fans that “I will give you something to cheer for”.  However, the Mets can’t afford to wait five months for the production.  Eduardo has a young prospect (Baty) vying for playing time in his position, which he did not field well (33rd in MLB in both DRS and OAA).  It took Lindor more than a year to come into his own, but Escobar doesn’t have that much time or he will be looking at a DH and utility infielder role.

Daniel Vogelbach – Daniel became a fan favorite right away, and clearly is loved in the clubhouse.  However, last year’s experiment with righty and lefty DHs is probably one-and-done.  The Mets need a power bat or at least a really high OPS in the DH position.  Vogelbach’s to-do is simple (but hard) – learn to hit the lefties or see ABs go down.  There will be several  players competing for the DH slot next year – some of whom are not yet on the roster.

James McCann – After another rough season, McCann has not only lost the confidence of the fans, but also the manager.  Tomas Nido started all the important games down the stretch and got himself nominated for a Gold Glove in the process.  McCann has the skills to succeed looking at the back of his baseball card, but he has not performed.  With #1 prospect Francisco Alvarez now upon him, McCann’s shot if he is not traded is to come out of spring training hitting like he did in 2020 (.289/.360/.896).  That wins him a DH spot.

There are many other “to-do”s on this team, but the post is getting long, so I’ll end here looking for your comments on other position players and then maybe a follow-up post on pitching “to-dos”.