Paul Articulates – First in my mind

There are always many topics to discuss as spring training winds down.  The players have had several weeks now to round into baseball shape, refine their swings or throwing mechanics, and renew their competitive spirits.  The player development and coaching staffs have almost wrapped up their evaluation phases, and are ready to make the final roster adjustments from the majors down through the minors.

Until the dust settles, there are always many articles written speculating about what choices the management should make, and there are opinions, and that is a lot.  The choices that come to my mind first are the one that involves the first base position.  Here is what the Mets are faced with:

Pete Alonso is entering his final season of team control under a $20.5M contract that was agreed upon prior to arbitration earlier this year.  We have all heard the rumors about whether or not he has received an extension offer from the Mets or not, have heard directly from David Stearns that he “Hopes Pete makes his job harder by having a great season”, and heard all the negativism about Pete’s agent Scott Boras.  

We will never really know what is going on behind the scenes, but we do know that if Pete has a monster season, it will take a boatload of cash to keep him in Flushing.  

I think everyone in the Mets organization wants him around (as I do) but things get very tricky when there are bidding wars going on.  So unless there is a surprise announcement within the next three days, Pete will enter the season without an extension, forcing the Mets to choose to either trade him at the deadline for a generous reward of prospects or go to the auction house with everything they have to sign him for life.

Jose Peroza , Luke Voit, and Daniel Palka played the majority of games with the AAA Syracuse Mets at first base last year.  Peroza and Palka chose free agency at the end of the season so they are no longer with the team.  I don’t expect Voit to be around either after batting just .118 with two extra base hits in spring training as of yesterday.  That leaves the position open to a few key prospects to vie for the heir apparent position if Pete leaves town at the trade deadline.

Mark Vientos has played some first base with the big league club, and seemed slated for the DH role this year until the late signing of JD Martinez which got Mark assigned to AAA.  One would expect that he would get most of the reps in Syracuse to be the insurance policy against injury or trade because frankly the Mets don’t have a backup first baseman right now.

Ryan Clifford came over to the Mets in the trade that sent Justin Verlander to the Astros last year.  There was so much buzz about Drew Gilbert that not much was said about Clifford, but upon a deeper look Ryan could be the sleeper in that trade.  Clifford is currently ranked as the Mets’ number 4 prospect (two spots behind Gilbert) in the MLB 2024 prospect rankings.  

Ryan has shown some serious power with an .848 OPS in his minor league career, belting 24 home runs in A ball last year.  He impressed the scouts in the Spring Breakout game as the starting first baseman and could soon be moving quickly up the ranks if the reports are accurate.  Ryan recently spoke with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies’ Jacob Wilkins at the Mets’ spring training complex – click on the interview below to see what he has to say.

 Ryan Clifford Spring Training Interview.mp4

JT Schwartz is a talented hitter and an outstanding defensive first baseman in the Mets’ system.  Schwartz played almost the full season last year with the AA Rumble Ponies and despite missing weeks with a quad injury he put up some very good numbers, slashing .302/.383/.437 and being a big piece of their playoff run.  Schwartz also had the opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League last year where he was selected to the all-star team.  I have written about Schwartz before, calling him John Olereud without the batting helmet which is some pretty high praise.  

Unfortunately Olereud played when it was acceptable for a first baseman to be hit first, power second.  Current thinking is that 1B is a power hitting position so for Schwartz to break into the majors he may have to put some more lift in his swing.  Can he do it?  At 6’4” 225lb I think he can.  Let’s watch how this plays out.  Here is his interview with Jacob Wilkins below.

 JT Schwartz Spring Training Interview.mp4

So the many decisions are upon the Mets’ player development and coaching staffs as well as the front office.  Do we keep Pete and roll the dice on having the most attractive FA bid at the end of the year?  Do we trade him at the deadline for another haul of prospects?  If so, do we elevate Mark Vientos to the MLB first base job or would Schwartz or Clifford be ready for that spot?

Time will tell, but for now this is the toughest set of choices for the Mets’ organization.

<By the way, do you like these prospect interviews that have been shared with us by the Binghamton Rumble Ponies?  If so, I have posted all of them on the side bar for your viewing and listening pleasure.>