As we sit around pondering the upcoming season, most focus on the players they think will lead to success. There are huge debates on the merits of George Springer and Trevor Bauer, whether or not picking James McCann over J.T. Realmuto was shrewd or a mistake, and who else is needed to fill in the rest of the roster.
Hypothetical trades are bandied about involving folks like Nolan Arenado, Francisco Lindor, Kris Bryant and various lesser names allegedly on the trading block. Yes, it is fantasy baseball played on a professional level.
However, the better topic for people to consider is not necessary who should be playing for the Mets, but rather what kinds of things do they need to do to ensure a more competitive team during 2021 and beyond. There are a great many issues with why the team fell apart in 2020 during Luis Rojas’ first year as a major league manager that the club needs to address, some of which you can point at the skipper and some of which are well beyond his ability to correct.
Defense is the first topic that should be on everyone’s mind. The Mets chose a rock solid defensive catcher by making the early signing of McCann a priority. Having someone who calls a good game, who frames pitches well and who can throw out baserunners will help the already challenged pitching staff to execute at a much higher level than has been seen recently.
However, catching isn’t the only issue that needs to be addressed. Call me a heretic, but I think they need to hold a truly open audition for first base between incumbent Pete Alonso and skyrocketing Dom Smith. There’s no question that Smith is a better fielder than Alonso while also recently demonstrating stronger offense. While some have advocated putting Smith in left field, the fact is that he would damage and already weak outfield and there is no DH planned for 2021.
So that means many prefer you bench your best hitter and best fielding first baseman for non-specific reasons. Yes, Alonso put together an amazing year in 2019 but the sophomore jinx hit him smack in the head during 2020.
At second base Jeff McNeil is a competent choice to fill in for drug abuser Robinson Cano, so there’s not much to consider in terms of alternatives. You could reposition a shortstop to play 2B, but that change doesn’t seem to have much merit.
Where it gets fascinating is the conversation surrounding shortstop. Easily 90% of the fans are in favor of 2020 short-term success Andres Gimenez to take over the daily role captaining the infield at shortstop, but his offensive contributions are modest at best.
He has no power and never has hit for a very high batting average. He does contribute excellent speed and terrific defense, hence the overblown enthusiasm about his bat makes a little more sense when you realize it includes these other proven attributes which are not bat-centric.
Similarly, the strong-finishing Amed Rosario during the seasons of 2018 and 2019 has been pushed aside completely because he had a weak 2020. I can surely understand the need to put your strongest defensive team on the field which might mean Rosario moving to 3B or to the bench as a super utility player, but I don’t see how all of the sudden people think he’s totally useless.
The outfield to me is a great mystery right now. We know Michael Conforto has right field sewn up, but the other two positions are most definitely uncertain. Brandon Nimmo was a disaster in CF, but is passable in LF. No one on the team is suitable for CF.
There are some good bats like J.D. Davis who are not suitable to play anything but DH if and when it becomes available. Again, improving outfield defense will in effect increase pitching effectiveness as the hurler no longer has to worry that every ball in the gap is a double or triple.
The idea of improving defense may sound too small-ball for a great many people, but there is certainly a tremendous need to make the team more reliable with the gloves and arms. As it is, the pitching is very weak (with a few exceptions) and it’s doubly necessary to ensure you do what you can to help the guys on the mound in any way possible.
Pitchers don’t care as much about the team scoring six runs or more per game as they do preventing more than three from scoring against you.
13 comments:
I can't believe they still have not issued a final edict on the DH in the NL in 2021. What are they waiting for???
That said, the practical vs. theoretical comes into play. I really think Dom Smith will be a star if he can play 1B. Why can't he be another Freddie Frickin' Freeman? And Pete will crush again. He is too strong and committed to not bounce back, even if not all the way back to 2019's explosion.
Unless another team OVERHWELMED the Mets in a trade for one of them, they have to stay and have to play, because it seems that 2022 would be a DH year if 2021 isn't. Their bats are too good - but the defense will suffer.
That also affects the Springer deal - if there is no DH, where are they going to find enough playing time for him, Conforto, Nimmo, and Smith, all of whom deserve to play 150 games? Someone might have to go, unless again management sees a DH-less 2021 as a one year aberration and muddles through with all of these guys in 2021. Guys do, after all, get hurt. It might still work out fine.
Gimenez? Maybe we play him another year and determine whether to retain or trade later.
Amed? It is up to them to decide if they think a fast, athletic guy will ever learn to work a walk, steal bases, and up his D.
Lots to consider.
I here 3 different versions of infield alignments that get bandied about and then my version. Which of the 4 fits this team better in your opinion going forward?
1) leave infield alone Davis at 3rd, Giminez at ss, McNiel at 2nd and Rosario fill in all over. We have a lot of payroll flexibility in this scenario.
2) LeMahieu at 2nd, Giminez at ss McNiel at 3rd and Rosario and Davis all over or trade chips. Add $25 million for DJ also lose a 2nd round pick in draft. While also taking on an older player for 5 years.
3) Lindor at SS, McNiel at 2nd and whoever isn’t in the trade for Lindor at 3rd. Payroll goes up $20 million this year and $30 for every after if we sign him. We traded about 4-5 players to get Francisco with no guarantee he signs long term.
4) Turner at 3rd, DiDI at SS, McNiel at 2nd. Our payroll goes up $27 million $15 for DiDi and $12 for Turner. We also have JD, Rosario and Giminez for bench or trade. We lose no draft picks and may gain some prospects from trading JD, Rosario or Giminez. Also both players are pretty good defensively.
If you read my comments over this offseason I’m all for version number 4. Also if you want you can always trade Didi or Turner after this year if you decide to jump into that tremendous 2021 Shortstop offseason next year while only losing a 2nd round draft pick but also getting value back after trading either or both of them. So build your farm system up this year and next if you like.
I think defensively either option 2,3 or 4 is best defensively but at what cost to our system going forward?
What do y’all think?
How many years for Didi and Turner, ZOZO?
Of those 4 options, #1 is my choice. I do not like # 2 at all, and #4 does not make any sense to me.
#5 is my choice: Lindor at short, Gimenez platoon with Davis at 3rd, Kolten Wong on a 1 (or 2) year deal to play 2nd. With Smith at 1st, the best infield defense in the majors.
Tom I would think 2 years 24 million for Turner and 3 and 45 million for Didi.
1969 so you are trading McNiel and his 4 years of cheap control plus others for Lindor? Your raising the payroll at 2nd base around $5 million more than what your paying McNiel. So $25 million for this year with no guarantee of either player staying past this year? I think that would be good for this year but not into the future. I would rather wait for next years free agency if you want to add one of this star shortstops. I think Correa may be a more profitable get next year than what the others may get money wise.
Also 1969 I like 1st option as well but number 4 is my favorite option.
About Gimenez, he revamped his swing after 2018 and spent all of 2019 working on it in Binghamton which (along with a frigged and very rainy April and May in 2019) led to a slow start and a low .250 average. But it started to click for him towards the end of the year and he took what he learned into the 2019 Arizona Fall League:
In 18 games, Andres led the league with a .371 batting average and a .999 OPS ending the fall league on a 7 for 12 streak, 26 hits in 70 at bats with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 15 RBI’s, 2 stolen bases and a .413 on base percentage. This was higher than others MLB prospects like Alec Bohn, Royce Lewis, Seth Beer and Jo Adell.
Gimenez is not a hitter like Ray Ordonez or Jose Oquendo. He may also not be a fielder like Ozzie Smith but as he showed last year, he is very good. He was named the best defensive player in the Mets system in 2018 and 2019.
Rosario? Potentially a good right handed bat - but he has never been a good fielder. His minor league SS resume - 14 errors in 58 games in 2013; 21 in 66 games in 2014; 17 in 104 games in 2015; 23 in 113 games in 2016; 17 in 87 games in Las Vegas in 2017.
You need defense up the middle. You need to build your team around guys that will make the routine plays to get pitchers out of jams when they induce the ground ball - not turn the inning into a crooked number when they make an error.
I would start with Gimenez as my SS.
Sign Kim as a potential SS/3B and use both J.D. Davis and Amed Rosario as trade prospects if Gimenez starts and Gimenez in AAA with Rosario starting. Lowest cost option discussed.
I guess we'll just have to disagree on this one.
A few points to clarify:
* If I am the 'GM for the day', I don't feel like I have to have a shortstop, and I am not actively shopping for one because I don't have a good one.
* Like John, I would be perfectly happy to start Gimenez at short in 2021.
* The reason I would obtain Lindor is that it is a great time to get the value of a 30 HR, 20 SB .280+ avg, .820+ OPS, Gold Glove caliber player in a very depressed market for the same $$ that Cano so selfishly donated.
* In addition to being a better ballplayer than anyone currently on the Mets, Lindor plays the game the way it should be played - with enthusiasm, joy, a smile on his face - just someone to have fun watching.
* If they cannot get Lindor for SS, I have no interest in looking at anyone else.
* I cannot see any sense in spending $27 million for 2021 to retool the left side of the infield with players that are 36 and 31 years old.
* I am not in favor of trading McNeil and others for Lindor. The only way I trade McNeil and others to Cleveland would be to get Lindor AND one of their young controllable pitchers - Plesac, MacKenzie or Civale. Without them, McNeil is not included.
* I do not believe McNeil is the second baseman that is needed. Back to the original concept of Reese's article, the type of player the Mets need to fill is one that is defensively superior with speed, a good baserunner . . i.e. a Lindor. I believe someone else's comment that McNeil is probably the 4th best second baseman on the Mets roster as it stand.
Funny to be arguing over McNeil, who has that .319/.383/.501 career split. Me? I'd keep Gimenez and McNeil at SS and 2B. I think Gimenez will step up in 2021. Could be a 35 double, 15 HR guy. That and good D, and cheap? You need good and cheap somewhere if Cohen's hint of not going over the cap this year comes to pass.
Of course, that hint may be to douse water on those who think he will be panicked into overpaying free agents.
I guess I'm the lone backer for #2, since IMO DJ gives the best alignment by himself. And given his versatility, he can be a useful utility player if his range starts to fade after 2 or 3 years. Has no one noticed what Kendrick, Turner and others have done after age 34?
And no one has mentioned Ronny Mauricio, arguably our #1 prospect, and only a year or two away.
SS is not a weak spot, particularly while our 2 current guys are so young and still promising.
And while I'm not in any way ready to say it would work well, why not at least ask Pete if he'd be willing to try LF during ST?
If he is willing (no Hundley matador references, please), and can be at least mediocre out there, it would give us a GG-quality 1Bman.
I'd rather see great D at 1B (especially if JDD or McNeil is at 3rd and mediocrity in LF, than mediocrity at both. As I said, I don't know if it can work, but why not try?
Holy shit. There is just too much fodder here to digest. Seems that everyone has a plan that differs from everyone else's. Most are both reasonable and thought provoking. I guess that shows that Mack's Mets attracts thinkers. (Not stinkers) I'll just state my thinking here, rather than address each idea one by one.
Firstly, I think we need to address our most pressing needs before we think about enhancing the infield. To me that means we sign Springer, a quality starter not named Trevor, (Sugano is my choice) one more arm for the pen, (I like Jake McGee, but there are so many to choose from) and a versatile bench piece like Kike Hernandez.
Now, for the infield, I would trade for either Lindor or Arenado, whichever was the more reasonable. The drawback with Lindor is the question of extending him. He might just want to test the market, although the IF competition will be fierce next winter. The advantage to Lindor over Arenado is that it would allow us to move McNeil (no, I'm not trading him) over to 3B (yes, I am trading J.D.) which is his best fielding position, and Gimenez to 2B. That would give us outstanding defense up the middle, with McCann Lindor, Gimenez and Springer, and satisfactory defense in all 4 corners.
I could also be happy with a trade for Arenado, (if a Lindor trade doesn't work out) with the Rockies sending us about $40 million in cash to offset his $199 million. Another trade that I could be happy with would be with the Reds, for Castillo and Suarez. Having an infield of Suarez, Gimenez, McNeil and Smith/Alonso would be perfectly acceptable. In any of those scenarios, I am not trading away Smith, Alonso, McNeil, Nimmo, or Gimenez. (unless Cleveland will only deal Lindor if Gimenez heads the package, in which case I keep Rosario.)
That's my plan and I'm stickin' to it.
Great points by Bill. If Alonso = Smith as a left fielder, then do it. Heck, if Alonso = McNeil as a third baseman, then do that one. I would love to see Smith as the full time first baseman.
Herb - nice wrap. I want no part of Arenado's salary albatross, even if he does improve 3rd base. And if Cleveland insists on Gimenez in a Lindor package, I walk away. As you have gathered, I'd love to see Lindor, but it has to be on the Mets 'cheap' terms. Their desperation to shed the contract yields little return. One other point of my Lindor craze is that pairing him with Gimenez in the middle would really help Gimenez in his MLB development.
You and I are on the same page on Springer and pitching and I agree, Springer should be the first priority - let's get him in the tent and then get some pitchers. Sugano is fine. Walker was on my early list. Paxton on my later list and a trade for a team-controlled pitcher such as one of the Cleveland ones, Joe Musgrove from Pittsburgh or Castillo or Gray from Cincy, altho I think Castillo would be too expensive. I'm glad to see they didn't give up the farm for Snell.
I would love Lindor but would rather wait to just lose a second round draft pick next year for either Lindor, Correa, Seager or Baez and then upgrade at SS.
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