Reese Kaplan -- Ah, To Be Young And Playing For Another Ballclub...

One of the main criticisms of the Mets roster construction (aside from the usual frustration with Billy Eppler's unwillingness to make the obvious and needed changes) is the age of the players taking the field on a daily basis in the attempt to win ballgames.  While everyone was well aware of the top two starting pitchers at and approaching 40 years of age, the rest of the team is mostly over 30 and it would appear that being young and in the Mets farm system is a slow road to another team instead of success at Citifield.

Yesterday we discussed the likely and now confirmed promotion of Francisco Alvarez to take the place of the IL-bound Omar Narvaez.  At the time everyone suspected the new catcher was bound to miss a few games to a mandatory short stay on the injured list. Then word came out yesterday that it's a high grade strain on his calf that means as long as two months away from playing in order to heal properly.  

Now many people while they are pleased to see Alvarez get the opportunity to play, they still feel it was premature but necessary due to poor roster construction and lack of depth at many positions.  One week in Syracuse is not necessarily enough to have fixed his defensive shortcomings nor to have recharged his dormant bat.  However, with non-roster players available in the system as other catching options it was simply easier to make the promotion to someone who is already on the 40-man roster.

The side conversation among Mets fans is what would have to happen to see recovering Brett Baty or fully healthy Mark Vientos get a chance to play?  Would it be an injury to Eduardo Escobar?  If that happened would Baty get a call or would they simply insert Luis Guillorme at 3rd base and instead promote someone like 29 year old journeyman Danny Mendick who also happens to be on the 40 man roster?  For Vientos would it take multiple injuries to Daniel Vogelbach, Tommy Pham, Tim Locastro and Pete Alonso before they remembered that he even existed?

No, the issue today is the thought process behind the win-now attitude of signing older ballplayers to long term deals and then playing them regularly to justify both the decisions made and their salaries while ignoring the likelihood of injuries and the slower recovery time that corresponds to more senor athletes working their way back into playing shape.  One of the lessons many winning teams have learned (such as the Braves, Padres and even the Yankees) is that you need to prepare for your future with a blend of the best of the game when possible to counterbalance newcomers who worked and earned their opportunities to play regularly.  

Instead, the Mets roster construction philosophy is a bit beyond the Wilpon scrap-heap-only approach but always leaning heavily in terms of what someone accomplished way back when rather than what they have done lately.  The end result is a laundry list of injuries to veterans like Justin Verlander, Edwin Diaz (unrelated to on-the-field action), Jose Quintana, Omar Narvaez, Tommy Hunter and others.  Everyone with a beating pulse is well aware of Brandon Nimmo's injury history and remembers well how the offense totally collapsed last season when Starling Marte was unable to play.  

So the question becomes why are the Mets so aggressively avoiding the integration of youth into the strategy to create a long term winning atmosphere?  Ronny Mauricio playing shortstop behind Francisco Lindor must be considering where he'll be traded to get the chance to play since his future is as forgotten as many others before him.