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5/20/23

Mike's Mets - Man the Lifeboats, Part 4

 



We wrap up our 4-part series on the Mets' chances for turning the season around with thoughts on the manager and front office and summing it all up.

It's incredible how much has happened with the New York Mets just since I began writing this series on Tuesday. First, there was Wednesday night's epic win fueled, in part, by call-ups Francisco Álvarez and Mark Vientos. The Mets didn't even decide to bring up Vientos until Wednesday. Next, the Mets put forth a solid effort to defeat the Rays (and finally win a series) on Thursday afternoon. After the game, we learned that the decision had been made to bring up catcher Gary Sánchez. As of the time of my writing this piece, no corresponding roster move has been made. (Update: it has.)

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me share some thoughts on the latest move. I'm hoping the roster move will be to send down Michael Pérez. I have nothing against Pérez personally. It's just that he will have to go in the relatively near future, anyway. If the Mets choose to make the move I don't want to see — sending Álvarez back to Syracuse — that would only defer a decision on Pérez until Tomás Nido returns, anyway. Beyond that, I made the point yesterday that Álvarez's offensive number so far (.218/.274/.423), while hardly stellar, are above Gary Sánchez's MLB production from 2018-2022 (.202/.295/.427). I see no reason for Sánchez to suddenly improve on what he's done in the past 4 MLB seasons, while Francisco has a chance to be much better if he settles in. (UpdateIt was Pérez)

While I've seen multiple pundits opine that promoting Sánchez is a "no-brainer," I respectfully submit that it's not that simple. Any playing time that Gary Sánchez receives will come at someone else's expense. The list would include Álvarez, Vientos, Tommy PhamEduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha. Look, I can hear a chorus of "Who cares?" in response to some of those names, but please bear with me.

I'm sure plenty of Mets fans would willingly pack the bags of Pham, Escobar, and Canha and drive them to the airport if it would get them out of town faster. All of those guys are underperforming right now except for Escobar. Since the call-up of Brett Baty in mid-April, Eduardo has slashed .324/.375/.649 over 40 PA in a part-time role. Against lefties, Escobar is hitting .227/.277/.500, including 3 of his 4 HR. With Luis Guillorme sent down, Eduardo is the backup infielder, period. He's doing well in a part-time role for which he seems better suited.

Meanwhile, the biggest worry with calling Mark Vientos up is playing time. Mark is primarily in the mix for RH DH, and now Sánchez will also be competing for those ABs. Next up are Pham and Canha, neither of whom is currently in the good graces of fans. But what complicates this is that the team is incredibly thin in outfielders. Tim Locastro is out of the mix, as the Mets put him on the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot for Sánchez. The Mets need Pham and Canha to return to being useful, productive hitters. Like it or not, that requires ABs.

Last season, J. D. Davis struggled with the Mets. He was caught up in a playing-time crunch and could never hit his way out of it. Since being given regular playing time with the Giants, J. D, is back to being the productive hitter he was with the Mets from 2019-2021. Hell, the Mets could use his bat this season. The idea that you throw a bunch of guys into the mix and let the cream rise to the top is all well and good, but it doesn't always work out if no one gets enough opportunity. I'm worried that adding Gary Sánchez to the mix is more complicating than helpful. Gary is 30 years old and hasn't been a productive hitter since 2019. I get the attraction of Gary's power to a team that still lacks pop, but it comes at the expense of less opportunity for Mark Vientos to prove himself.

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10 comments:

  1. Incorporating the kids into the lineup has given us a jolt of energy. Vogelbach looks like the odd man out right now with Canha close behind.

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  2. Vogeelbach and Canha should go. Escobar still serves a purpose re: last night's pinch running and stolen base. He's a good guy to have around to mentor the kids and not for nothin' his native tongue is Spanish,, helping him communicate with Alvarez and hopefully soon, Mauricio

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    1. You really would keep Pham over Canha? WHY???

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    2. Pham is a better outfielder

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  3. Bill, I agree - Canha over Pham - just because he is younger. And he knows how to take an HBP.

    Vientos' plan s/b to give him all Vogie at bats. Vogie can become late stage Rusty Staub and Ed Kranepool, to guys who might have beaten him in a foot race.

    Vogelbach is the only player I know that, if you fed him a steady diet of fastballs, he'd gain weight.

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  4. If the Mets were to jettison Pham, Canna, or both, they would need to find someone better than Abraham Almonte or Locastro. Locastro is on the 60-day IL anyway. Unless they pull off a trade for someone, they need to hope at least one of them figures things out.

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  5. Vientos over Sanchez,Canha over Pham. Both seem like nobrainers to me. If Sanchez hits when Narvaiz comes back cut Pham or go with 7 guys in BP. Finally bring up Mauricio.

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  6. Mike, I agree with everything you said.

    Eppler has done a fine job in trying to create an environment where our young, home grown prospects can flourish. He didn't trade them for short term glory and he has brought in enough veteran depth to keep the team afloat while the prospects did their learning in the minors (mostly) out of the spotlight. For all that wisdom, he gets trashed by the "pundits" when the aged veterans finally see their skills begin to diminish. Even now, with Max and Justin looking a little fragile, they are protecting the future stars like Mike Vasil and Dominic Hamel. Those two look like they can be great, but their confidence would take a hit if they were brought up too quickly.

    Same with Buck. You can trash him because he didn't use his best closer every time there are men on base and a great hitter coming up, but that wears out your closer's arm and by the end of the season you don't have your best for critical games. Give the guy a break - he is a very cerebral manager who is always considering both the short and long term. Over a season his decisions play out but people judge him on single games.

    The more I write, the more I appreciate you creating this post Mike - it needed to be said.

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