Reese Kaplan -- Sometimes You Need to Zig Rather Than Zag

Until the Mets make some clear course corrections and roster renovations there will be innumerable iterations of prospective plans for how they handle various openings caused by free agency exploration.  For now we’ll leave the closer role alone which seems a bit more likely to get resolved and instead ponder first base if Alonso sells himself elsewhere.

While the convention wisdom has the Mets going after high dollar star players like Cody Bellinger who could provide both offense and defense while not saving any money and hoping that the improved WAR ratings justify how the club filled the unwanted vacancy.  No one would criticize the front office if they went in this kind of direction but there are some other less prominent selections available that could definitely spell a new direction for the team composition.

During the New York Mets history they have gone in various unusual directions when it came to manning first base.  While obviously sluggers like Carlos Delgado and others of that skill set are what often get the assignment, the Mets have also gone down paths less traditional.  You can make a case for the greatness brought by Keith Hernandez and John Olerud who were not 30+ HR hitters, but who can forget the decisions to use Todd Zeile, Rico Brogna and a host of others who didn’t quite fit the mold.

Towards that end there is a current free agent who has bounced around a bit in his career from the Twins to the Marlins to the Padres while showing precious little in defense and power yet has hit for a career batting average of .317.  Luis Arraez is a modern day version of Tony Gwynn Lite who had a .338 batting average for his career.  Still, while considering what kind of offensive force could be suitable for folks like Juan Soto and others to drive across the plate nearly no one considers the prospect of the $14 million hitter who has already been a three time All Star, two time Silver Slugger and three time batting title winner.  In a typical year he will not steal a lot of bases nor hit double digit home runs but how many .317 hitters are there in this game? 

Another oddball approach is looking overseas for otherwise little known players who did not succeed in their early turns at becoming major league ballplayers who flourished in Korea, Japan or elsewhere en route to baseball success.  One such player is named Lewin Diaz who at age 29 has been playing most of his career in Korea and Mexico.  While his brief fling with the Marlins was highly unremarkable, over the course of six foreign seasons he has hit .298 with about 28 HRs per year.  The left handed hitter will turn 30 this year and provides a combination of average and power.  His cost would be highly negligible and for a historical reference the Milwaukee Brewers embraced a similar player in Eric Thames successfully.

Now the third name to consider has not been quite as inconspicuous, though more of the conversation has been about his career across the diamond at third base rather than at first where he has also had extensive experience.  Kazuma Okamoto is a 29 year old who has had great offensive success in Japan while also providing top notch defense.  He’s a career .274 hitter who reeled off six straight seasons of more than 30 HRs.  He was just posted by his team and the stopwatch is now active for 45 days for major league teams to negotiate making him a rookie in either the American or National League.  For all of the rumor furor about 25 year old  Munetaka Murakami also being posted it may turn out that Okamoto would be a far less expensive option while not absorbing Murakami’s substandard defense and less than stellar physique.