The Mets have made an in-season move and acquired Eric Young, Jr.  I know, Mets360.com already has run an article about it but its so nice to see the Mets make a deal, I had to write another one.

In what must be considered a significant move for the Mets, they have acquired Young from the Colorado Rockies for pitcher, Collin McHugh.

Young is a 2nd baseman/outfielder with speed.  Wait a minute? Don’t we already have one of those on our major league roster; someone by the name of Jordany Valdespin? What’s the point of doing this twice?

Is Young a significant upgrade over Valdespin? So far this year, we see the following offensive statistics:

Young is 26.  At the time of the trade he had 165 ABs, scored 22 runs, had 40 hits, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 8 SBs, and a .242 Batting Average.

Valdespin is 25.  At the time of the trade he had 116 ABs, scored 15 runs, had 24 hits, 3 Hrs, 13 RBIs, 4 SBs, and a .207 Batting Average.

So, Young’s got a little more speed and a better batting eye.  Also, Young is a switch-hitter; Valdespin is a left-handed hitter.

Young stole 14 bases in 2012 and hit .316.  In 2011, Young stole 27 bases and hit .247.  Both Young and Valdespin have played most of their games this year in the outfield.

Does this cement Lucas Duda‘s spot at first and Daniel Murphy‘s spot at second?

How is Young’s defense?  He’s not a gold-glover.  His (FanGraph) UZR rating in left-field was -.05 at the time of the deal.  But that is a +10.5 point improvement over Duda’s UZR rating of -11.1. You got to love that!

Young has not established himself as a full-time player in Colorado but could benefit from a chance to play every day in New York.  He is neither facing strong opposition on the major league roster nor minor league talent knocking at the outfield door.  He can definitely improve the offensive performance of the lead-off spot.

The Mets might have obtained a very useful player (one with almost 700 major league At Bats). He can improve their overall performances in Runs Scored, Stolen Bases, and Team Fielding.  Perhaps they just made Valdespin a trading chip as well.

4 comments on “The New York Mets make a move; acquire Eric Young, Jr.

  • steevy

    This column is up twice with different pictures.Anyway,Young is an upgrade if he can perform anywhere near his 2012 level.

    • Jim OMalley

      Ok problem with the double post is fixed…..EY showed elite speed skills one year and then good batting average another year BUT has not put it together in a single year and ran out of time in Col.

  • Metsense

    The current team needed a better defensive OF that could play center, lead off, steal base and had some success at the major league level. Sandy got him for a pitcher that was DFA and had no Met future.He was able to trade a surplus for a need, a very good move by Sandy.
    JV is an infielder who is vesatile enough to be an OF. If the Mets really wanted to help their future, they would have sent JV down when Tejada got hurt, and played him at SS so that in the future he would be a solid ML BACKUP middle infielder. Of course Turner’s injury would have aborted the plan.
    If Young takes time from Lagares, then Lagares should get his playing time in AAA, as he is the only real prospect that has emerged of the 2013 outfielders.
    I see Young and JV on the same roster as they are two very vesatile players that on a good team would be good bench players.

  • Dan Stack

    So far, so good on the trade.

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