Reese Kaplan -- Can Small Ball Lead to Big Wins?

The frustration most Mets fans are feeling right now probably has its roots in offense even more so than pitching.  Yes, everyone is well aware of the need for the Mets to bolster both their starting rotation and bullpen, but the fact remains it was the offense that let them down even more during the embarrassing 2023 season that just ended.

Thus far the new front office personnel have been highly active on the bottom, signing pitchers and bench players to major league, minor league and split option deals to help reinforce the roster while replacing many who have departed voluntarily or otherwise.  It seems that every other day we're reading about some fringe player becoming a part of the Mets depth yet the roster remains wide open with 7 vacancies to fill plus the additional one that will develop when the 60-day IL bound David Peterson can later be moved off of it.  

So as well sit here fretting over who the Mets will sign at the top end of the playing roster, the old question about the best way to improve the scoring potential of the roster once again surfaces.  Many are lusting after big home run hitters like Cody Bellinger, Rhys Hoskins, Teoscar Hernandez, J.D. Martinez, Jorge Soler or others available simply for dollars without sacrificing player resources.  

While unable to sleep last night I started pondering a different approach for the Mets to take on offense with some decent roster reinforcements but without the all-or-nothing swinging approach.  Let's just say that as much as it would be nice to know the Mets could use a few guys who can put one over the wall at any time, the flip side is watching the 200 at bats when swinging at strike three creates no positive impact whatsoever.  We don't need any Joey Gallos no matter how appealing 30+ home runs would be when it comes accompanied by a lifetime batting average under .200.

So go with me for a minute in consideration of a player like Jeff McNeil.  Can he hit home runs?  Yes, though he's not going to rival Pete Alonso nor Francisco Lindor for their home run frequency.  Can he avoid striking out?  Yes, he makes contact nearly every time he's at bat.  Is he a dead pull hitter?  No, he uses pretty much the entire field which makes defending against him a bit of a challenge.  Does he get on base frequently?  Why, yes, he does.  Is he dead weight on the base paths?  Well, no one will mistake him for an at-his-prime Starling Marte or uninjured Ronny Mauricio, he runs intelligently and won't hurt you like say a Daniel Vogelbach.  

Finally, can he hit?  Well, the last time I looked he sports a career batting average of merely .298.  Can you think of anyone else on the Mets now or throughout their long history who was that good while swinging the lumber?  Obviously McNeil is a vital cog in the machine and added more to his resume when he showed he could play all around the infield in the corner spots in the outfield. 

So try a little experiment and think what the team would be like if in addition to Alonso, Alvarez and Lindor who can all home with the best of them, they loaded up on more players in the mold of Jeff McNeil who get on base regularly and possess all of the offensive skills outlined above.  Imagine if those home runs and doubles hit by the power hitters actually had men on base ahead of them to increase the number of runs scored.  

The biggest frustration of the 2023 squad after slumps and injuries was watching players get on base and stay there while the hitters were more adept at the long ball than they were at the single.  

Towards that end, everyone agrees that the Mets indeed need more productivity out of the DH spot and at least one outfield spot.  Starling Marte's contributions are a big unknown and the Baby Mets trio of Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos have not as of yet established their major league bona fides to ensure that what they provide is written in stone. 

So instead of pursuing an expensive clone of Dave Kingman (offensively), I'd rather see  the Mets consider the prospect of someone like Jung Hoo Lee as the newest outfielder.  Yes, it's well known that Korean ball is not quite at major league level, but it sure is hard to sneeze at a lifetime .340 hitter with strong defensive metrics and solid base running as well as 20 HR power.  

In a way he reminds me of another Jeff McNeil who was somewhat a surprise playing even better in the majors than he did in the minors.  Of course, by banking on Yoshinubo Yamamoto as primary focus, the Mets were asleep at the switch and he went to the Giants instead.  

Factor in a slightly scaled down aggregate of performance stats accompanied by a modest salary requirement and he would seem to be just the kind of player the Mets need to add to their run scoring potential.  After all, the big guys can drive in more runs if there are actually guys on base for them to deliver.  

Believe it or not, these types of solid day-to-day hitters are few and far between, particularly since the steroid era where the infatuation with the long ball infected just about everyone.  Maybe some small ball is a smarter zig to deploy while everyone else continues to zag.