Paul Articulates – The switch

In baseball, much like in life, things never go quite like you would hope.  Murphy’s Law takes a dimmer view – if anything can go wrong, it will.  Sometimes the best plan is to be ready to re-plan.  

We know this well from years of failed trades, prospects that don’t materialize, and failed prospects that we trade that then flourish with another team.  Just when things start to go well, someone gets hurt or goes into a slump.  Don’t you just wish that there was a magical button you could push that would switch a broken part for a new one?  Swap an underperforming player for another one that performs better?

David Stearns may have found that switch.  He has been working deals for a few years now that seem to be producing a series of players that are capable of stepping up when another falters.  Let’s see what that looks like:

Brett Baty struggled mightily in his first few trips to the majors.  Throw the switch – in comes Mark Vientos who has a year to remember in 2024 and helps propel the Mets to the NLDS.  He struggles in 2025, so hit the switch again – up pops a rejuvenated Baty who starts playing like he belongs there.  What happens if you hit that switch again?  Ronny Mauricio is up.

Does that switch work in the outfield?  Marte, Nimmo, McNeil, Taylor – they have all had moments this year that made this a better team.  Need McNeil in the outfield?  Flip the switch and LuisAngel Acuna is making diving stops at second and running like the wind on the base paths.

Try the switch on the mound.  Canning finally has a few bad outings.  Throw the switch.  Blackburn pops in and gives you 5 innings with only 3 hits and no earned runs.  Pretty soon Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are on the other end of the switch in case someone else stumbles.

Bullpen tired?  Throw the switch.  Genesis Cabrera, Brandon Waddell, Jose Castillo have all popped in for an appearance or two with ERAs of 3.5 or better.  Diaz can’t go, throw the switch.  Stanek or Garrett will close.

The idea of the switch is a little bit of folly, but the science behind it is fascinating.  The Mets’ development staff from David Stearns down to the lowest guy on the analytics team to the person calibrating the pitching sensors in St. Lucie are all building a very deep bench for this team.  This has only been going on for three years and it seems like we are getting tremendous results already.  Stearns has managed to acquire flawed players that just need a tune-up to perform well, and that has bought time to get prospects the reps they need in the minors.  

Look at the time they were able to give Mauricio to fully recover from his winter ball injuries.  I hope that pays dividends.  If it doesn’t, there are plenty of very capable players competing for a crack at an MLB lineup.  Some are on the roster for the big club, and others are dotting the rosters in all levels of the minor leagues.