ANGRY MIKE: 10 - MAN LINEUP - OFFENSIVE VERSION TO THE 6-MAN ROTATION:

ANGRY MIKE

One of the more confusing positions I have seen all season is that the Mets have too many infielders, and they have to trade 1 or 2 them. There are a couple reasons that should make the Mets think twice before trading any of their young bats, especially since all 3 of them have flashed significant promise at various points of the 2025 season. 

I understand fans are excited about the next wave of prospects who appear to be knocking, but believing they will be instantly better or provide higher ceilings then the top 3 guys listed below might be a stretch. Which is why I think found a potential solution that might make everyone happy, but first let’s identify what has to change.

Players already on MLB Roster:

BRETT BATY

RONNY MAURICIO

MARK VIENTOS

Prospects nearing MLB promotion:

JETT WILLIAMS

CARSON BENGE

RYAN CLIFFORD

Positions up for grabs:

3B

2B

CF

DH

First off the Mets need to dispose any players who simply do not warrant a starting position and are being paid millions:

Jeff McNeil

Tyrone Taylor

The following players will most likely not return after their contracts expire:

Starling Marte 

Jesse Winker

Cedric Mullins

The Mets simply should not allocate tens of millions of dollars to players who don’t play everyday, and because none of these players provide any short-term or long-term upside. The Mets have the ability to save a ton of money and field a stronger roster by utilizing their collection of younger players and top prospects.

Vientos - DH 

Mauricio - 3B

Baty - 2B

Benge - CF

JETT - 10th Man

Introducing the 10-Man Lineup:

By essentially rotating Jett into the starting lineup 3-4 times a week at a different position, the Mets can create the necessary 350-400 AB he needs to continue his development at the MLB level. I personally wouldn’t sit Baty against most lefty-starters, but giving Mauricio days off versus lefties for now might be best:

Versus LH-SP:

Vientos - DH

Baty - 3B

JETT - 2B

Benge - CF

This is just one example of how pitching matchups can create AB’s for the 10th man, but essentially sitting a different player from this group once a week regardless of matchups creates opportunities for the 10th man. By only sitting them once a week it also prevents our regulars from having to endure long absences from the lineup which we have seen deployed in 2025 with disastrous results. 

The Mets can also create additional opportunities by giving some of our high-priced veterans more routine days off, in an effort to keep them fresh throughout the year.

This group of players is ideal for this type of rotation because they have spent considerable time logging experience playing multiple positions, and can always take over the DH position in the lineup:

Vientos - 3B | 1B 

Baty - 3B | 2B | 1B | LF

Benge - CF | RF | LF

JETT - SS | 2B | CF | LF

To make the 10-man lineup beneficial for a young player, you have to make sure they receive 400-450 AB at the MLB level in a full season. The opportunity to provide that number of AB by rotating our nucleus of younger players once a week and providing regular days off for our high-priced veterans creates that opportunity. 

If you want to operate as a perennial playoff contender, you’re essentially adding 15-20 games every season, which means you should be giving 12-15 games off to keep them fresh, especially since the Mets have the high-upside talent to provide those rest days without diminishing our ability to win.

Veterans rest games: 40 combined games X 4 AB/GM = 160 AB

< Lindor | Soto | Nimmo | Alonso (if he returns)

Young Nucleus Rotation -> 24 weeks X 1 game off per week X 3 players 

= 72 combined games X 4 AB/GM = 288 AB >

Total AB created: 448 AB

The Mets have created significantly more ABs for players who have clearly shown they are not MLB-regulars this season, by giving certain younger players multiple games off and the results have been a total disaster. Players who seemed to be coming out slumps or started to build momentum were taken out of the lineup and then they had to start from scratch. 

We’ve seen players go on a 11-game hitting streak like Vientos, only to be benched for the next 5 games. Analytics is rumored to be responsible for making lineup decisions, unfortunately that doesn’t work when you have high-upside talent who haven’t really exhibited their full-potential, so going off recent data simply doesn’t capture what they are truly capable of.

Young players need to play almost every day and our veterans need to rest more if we are to prevent a late-season collapse like we have seen during the 2025 season. Depending on which of the three prospects listed prove to be ready for MLB playing time, Mets will have some interesting options at their disposal for the 2026 season.

The 10-Man lineup creates the opportunity to achieve both those tasks, as well as saving the Mets tens of millions of dollars in the process…

ANGRY MIKE THINK TANK INITIATIVES