Paul Articulates - Tapping into the depth

The 2026 baseball season has not yet begun.  Spring training is just kicking off with official pitchers and catchers reporting dates now upon us (today is the day!).  Unfortunately, the Mets are already in a position to tap into their depth charts.

News broke this week that the Mets’ starting shortstop and franchise cornerstone Francisco Lindor has a stress fracture in the hamate bone in his left hand.  Yes, this is the same bone that knocked Francisco Alvarez out of sorts last year.  Despite the confidence and optimism expressed by David Stearns in this week’s press conference, the reality is that Lindor will not be back for a long time.  If you see #12 on the field in April or May, it will only be a shell of the true ball player he is because the hand injury will affect his swing and other mechanics.

The Mets once had substantial depth in the middle infield.  They had MLB-ready LuisAngel Acuna, who had already proven his abilities at short while filling in for an injured Lindor in the 2024 playoff chase.  They had #1 draft pick and rising prospect Jett Williams who was on track for a call-up this year.  Both are now gone via trade.  They had Ronny Mauricio, who showed both speed and power in the low minors and the winter leagues.  However, Mauricio has shown erratic play in the field and had limited success with the bat in his MLB appearances.  They had Brett Baty showing competence at second base, but certainly not the kind of quickness required for a shortstop.  

Now the Mets’ depth at short is limited to Mauricio; newly acquired Bo Bichette who is expected to learn the third base position and not fill at short; and a quartet of light-hitting minor league caliber infielders Vidal Brujan, Jackson Cluff, Grae Kessinger, and Christian Arroyo.

Meanwhile, the decision to move Juan Soto to left was probably a good one from a run prevention standpoint but only moved the left-field hole to the other side of the outfield.  To address this, the Mets signed free agent MJ Melendez. They also still have Tyrone Taylor and there is the promise of Carson Benge that will be evaluated in spring training.  Outlier possibilities include Brett Baty and Ryan Clifford, though neither fits the scheme of run prevention in a critical outfield position.

In David Stearns’ press conference, he referred to the “versatility of our position players”.  There is some truth to that, but the ability to be competent at multiple positions does not satisfy the need for excellence at a position.  Excellence is necessary to achieve the championship goals that the team has.  

In any MLB season, a team needs depth to deal with the inevitable injuries, the need to rest players, and to address performance shortfalls.  The Mets under Stearns have addressed positional depth with their off-season moves but it is a bad sign that six weeks prior to the first game of the season they need to tap into that depth.  I am hopeful that this is a glitch and not the top of an iceberg.