Reese Kaplan -- The Mets' 2023 Many DH Options Available

The New York Mets received very little from the various players who suited up in the newly available Designated Hitter (DH) position during the 2022 season.  Perhaps the best semi regular in that position was big Daniel Vogelbach who only hit .255 with 6 HRs and 25 RBIs while at bat 149 times for the team while in New York.  As a DH if he played every day he'd have tallied 24 HRs and driven in 100, but a lefty DH doesn't indeed hit that often.

Others who shared that role include the feeble Darin Ruf, the resting Pete Alonso or Eduardo Escobar, and a variety of others who swung the bat otherwise forgettably. To hear most Mets fans talk about it, the club really needs to overhaul the DH position if the team is going to get any more productivity in 2023 and beyond.

Now one way to approach it is to stay in-house with various younger players who need to become a part of the regular lineup.  Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are all in that mix as guys who have long ball power but nowhere to play on the field.  

Both Alvarez and Vientos swing from the right side and can offer up home run power.  Some feel Alvarez should start off the season in AAA where he did not truly excel and at age 21 could use some more seasoning as a future catcher.  Vientos hit 24 HRs in 310 ABs in 2021 and hit 25 HRs in 400 ABs in 2022.  Being 2 years older than Alvarez he's more well suited to that role right now.  

From the left size you have Brett Baty who was everyone's top hitting prospect before an injury ended his season prematurely.  He kicked it up a notch in 2022 in the minors delivering a .315 batting average to go along with 19 HRs and 60 RBIs.  

Those numbers are certainly impressive, but some might wonder if he's really that kind of hitter never having done so before at the lower levels and whether or not he can do so in the majors after his HR debut but then a sub-Mendoza follow up in just a short 38 AB audition.

Let's not forget veterans Eduardo Escobar and Daniel Vogelbach.  If you want Baty out there fielding the hot corner, what are you going to do with the 30 year old Vogelbach who could be a $1.5 million option or Escobar who rallied to get a player of the month towards the end of 2022 and is slated to earn $9.5 million after a .240 campaign in New York. No matter how you slice it, the DH position in-house is not going to be an easy one.  

Some people advocate the Mets pursue well known hitters who are well over 30 to take over this role.  Jose Abreu is starting off at age 36 after having hit half as many HRs in 2022 (15) and driving in just 75 after being a 30 HR lock who has had 6 seasons of over 100 RBIs in his career.  

Going after him now would be both an output gamble for the end of his career while looking at spending big but not huge dollars as he's still likely going to command somewhere in the $15 million or so per year range for a few years.

Josh Bell was once on the Mets radar as a candidate at mid season, but he went west to play for the Padres instead.  At age 30 he's looking for that first huge payday and the switch hitter is going to receive it.  He's a career .262 hitter who has played primarily for Pittsburgh and Washington before his sub-Mendoza trial in San Diego.  

He's had seasons of 26, 27 and 37 HRs with RBI totals of 88, 90 and 116.  Figure he's going to net in the $20 million per year range annually for likely 4-5 years.     

J.D. Martinez is a pure DH as he's pretty scary with a glove in his hand.  Starting off 2023 at age 35 he's likely to come down a bit in pay as he was about a $22.5 million player averaged out for the Red Sox for the past five years.  After debuting with a .330 average, slugging 43 HRs and driving in 130 for Boston in his rookie season as a member of the Red Sox, he was solid but not at that level for the next four years.  

He recently hit .286 while clubbing 28 HRs and driving in 99 during the 2021 season.  However, like Abreu, his numbers were down in 2022, hitting .274 with 16 HRs and driving in just 62.  He'll likely net around the $15-$18 million per season total for just two years or thereabouts.

One right handed hitting option that is still looking to return to the major leagues is the oft-injured chain smoking former Met Yoenis Cespedes who is hitting in the winter leagues.  Before you go all, "Hell no!" on me, remember that his history is as a Wilpon desperation find who was overpaid during his mid 30s.  

Right now if you considered him a DH only from the right side, he would cost far less than many other options available.  On a minor league deal with a major league option he could in fact amount to a great bargain compared to other options and could bridge the gap for a year while youngsters like Vientos, Alvarez and Baty work their way into the future.   

The now 37 year old Cespedes is mashing for Aguilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Republic.  He showed the Mets in 2015 and 2016 what kind of hitter he could be and right now is looking like his old self after being out of baseball for 2+ years.  There have been stupider things done in the past than reaching out for a guy who wants one more chance.

Of course, the way many would like to see the Mets go for the future is to sign a young hitter in his prime that would anchor the DH role for the foreseeable future.  The team could reach deep into Steve Cohen's pockets to do something like that, but it's interesting to see what other options exist who could make us all forget the way 2022's DH at-bats played out on the way out of the postseason.