Should he stay or should he go?

Should he stay or should he go?

While it appears the pitching question is settling itself (some combination of Schwinden/Hefner until Chris Young has enough  duct tape wrapped around his arm and shoulder to take the mound every five days, you are on the crux of a similar dilemma when the other injuries heal.  Ronny Cedeño I would expect back sooner than Jason Bay.  When he does return, the seldom-used Jordany Valdespin will likely return to Buffalo. However, when Jason Bay returns what happens then?

If Nieuwenhuis is continuing to produce above league average in terms of AVG then there is no need to have him enjoy more hot wings for the Herd.  Baxter is proving himself to be the type of clutch pinch hitter the Mets have enjoyed in the past with folks like Kranepool and Harris, so he has a role.

Would you bench Andres Torres in favor of Jason Bay?  Probably so given the greater upside potential for Bay who looked like he was starting to drive the ball before he lost his fight between his ribs and the ground.

Would you bench Kirk Nieuwenhuis in favor of Andres Torres?  I think the ringing in your ears is the collective "No!" from the entire Mets fanbase screaming it at the top of their lungs.  However, the modus operandi of this club has been to play proven mediocrity over potential premium performance when it comes to younger players.

The exceptions have been when injuries or other circumstances forced their hands.  Ike Davis got a shot when the great Mike Jacobs redux didn't pan out.  Lucas Duda got a shot when the various injuries to Beltran, Bay, Murphy and Davis created a vacancy.  Tejada was brought here when Reyes was hurt.  The most recent straight up opportunity I can recall is Josh Thole but that was almost out of necessity since the Mets have not produced a catcher since losing Flores to the Nationals.  Dillon Gee was an emergency recall due to injury.  Wait, wait...they did hand second base on a silver platter to Brad Emaus.  Sometimes you win...

So, with all of that being said, who goes when Bay returns?  Could the Mets be considering a trade of Andres Torres to another club?  That would seem to be the obvious route to take.  However, I'll predict Captain Kirk will be beaming back to Buffalo.

On the other hand, if the team wanted to get creative, would they consider trading Murphy to open up a spot for Valdespin/Havens?  Would they consider trading Davis and move Duda to 1B where he'd do less damage in the field?  Would they trade Duda to DH in the AL?  Would they (keep your oxygen tank handy) trade Wright while he's producing at an otherworldly level rather than commit to a long term contract or lose him a'la Reyes, then move Murphy to 3B and open up 2nd?

Nah, those approaches would take creativity and guts, neither of which seem to have been in abundance since Alderson and company took over running the operation.  They have been pretty conservative overall with the exception of the outlandish Francisco contract bidding against themselves for his services.  The conservative approach would be to bounce the producing youngster in favor of the underproducing but experienced veteran.  Bye, bye Kirk.