Reese Kaplan -- No Superstar Fill-In Needed for Nick Madrigal

Yesterday we looked at how to replace the injured pitchers without affecting the payroll.  Now comes a similar look at middle infielders where the Mets are also having to address the vacancy caused by the departure of Jose Iglesias and the long term shoulder injury to newcomer Nick Madrigal.  Now here the same salary swap scenario could work but it’s unlikely to be the approach taken.

For a quick refresher, the Mets could parlay an expiring $18.5 million Starling Marte contract or a halfway point $15.75 million contract to Jeff McNeil for 2025 and 2026 into a replacement from another ballclub.  

The problem now is that the desired player is more likely someone for the bench and not another starting caliber player.  As a result, if it turned out that someone like Trevor Story was put on the block at a $25 million salary for the next three years, you could likely get the BoSox to pay down on the number but at his age and injury history would you want to make that deal?  I sure wouldn’t.

So instead you are looking at spare infielders who could take the place of someone at second, shortstop or third in the event of a day off or minor injury recovery period was needed.  Obviously the first place to look is in-house to see who you have and whether or not one or more of these options could make sense.

At the top of the list is diminutive infielder Luisangel Acuna who has shown a tremendous glove and powerful legs throughout his minor league career.  He’ll likely reach double digits in home runs but unless the batting average exceeded .270 and the stolen base numbers cross into the 40 or more threshold he’s not exactly yet what you solidly envision as a starting caliber player on a day to day basis.

Brett Baty is up at spot number two.  He’s off to a good start as a Port St. Lucie hitter, but Mets fans and management have seen this apparition in the past which apparently vanishes in the cold April weather.  Some people are clearly exhausted by the multiple opportunities not yet seized by Baty, while others figure just trashing a former top level draft pick would be foolish.  

The other issue at hand, however, is defense.  While he’s been a serviceable third baseman in his career, this year they talked about him possibly taking the field at first base in a then Alonso absent roster.  Next came discussion of him trying to play second base.  What no one is breathing aloud is having him start even a Spring Training game at shortstop.  Consequently, if he was putting the bat to the ball consistently the question of patching up the infield backup needs would still be unanswered if Francisco Lindor needed a game or more out of the lineup.

The first positive medical news came recently regarding long injured and multiply operated infielder Ronny Mauricio.  It is said that by mid March he’d be put into game action and it’s entirely possible to foresee the former top ten prospect taking the field in another of the same positions as Acuna.  

While his stolen base numbers would understandably be down until the knee is truly 100% tested and healthy, he has much more power.  However, the rush to push him into this fill-in role may not make sense as he needs to be playing regularly to affirm he is ready for that kind of workload rather than having him rot away on the bench.

The situation with Jett Williams is kind of the same as the one with Mauricio.  Everyone knows he can field, he can run and he can hit.  What they don’t know is whether or not he’s ready to make the transition essentially from AA to a bench role on the majors.  Having his play every day in Syracuse would enable him to resume the growth path that went awry in 2024 due to injury and like Mauricio he would not truly reinforce his skills by watching from the sidelines on a daily basis.

So while the Acuna solution seems the closest to making sense (particularly when you throw in the good September of 2024 and the hot Winter League performance he made), it may be that the club would prefer him to rebuild on the mediocre AAA numbers he posted last season.  Playing every day would give him that chance whereas in the majors he would sit behind starters Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos. 

The other approach would be to find the next Nick Madrigal type from another club.  Veteran infielders who either don’t yet have a deal and would welcome a minor league chance or a split contract is one approach to the free agent marketplace.  The other one would be fringe level trade execution where the Mets send someone not slated to be a part of the long term core off elsewhere in return for a capable backup infielder.

Remember for a moment that even Jose Iglesias couldn’t land a major league contract in 2024 when he was on a minor league deal while signing with the Mets despite a .280 lifetime batting average.  There is quality out there for someone who can field like Luis Guillorme, hit like Jose Iglesias or run like an in-his-prime Bert Campaneris.  

These players might be blocked by long term veterans or simply have not shown enough consistency to warrant a full time job.  This group of AAAA types and MLB backups is who the Mets front office must evaluate.