The New York Mets have had many concerns throughout the 2015 season, starting with injuries to key players, an inexperienced shortstop, and a struggling offense. The starting rotation has overcome Zack Wheeler’s injury nicely, and the bullpen has not been bad, although they struggled yesterday when Jeurys Familia was unavailable. Wilmer Flores has been solid at shortstop, and the offense should be improving with Travis d’Arnaud coming back into the lineup. However, the offense has not had much help from the bench, and Darrell Ceciliani is making a strong case to be the team’s fourth outfielder.
Last season, it seemed that the Mets had plenty of depth for the outfield, as Matt den Dekker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis were given chances to play in the majors, but struggled to take advantage. The ceiling was high for both players as MLB.com ranked Nieuwenhuis was ranked the fifth best Mets prospect in 2011 and den Dekker ranked fourteenth in 2012. Nieuwenhuis had plenty of time to showcase his skills at the big league level, and looked good when he was first called up in 2012, hitting seven homers with a .252 average in 91 games. After that season, Nieuwenhuis struggled in 2013, would play well the first half of the 2014 season, and struggle in the second half. The Mets would go on to send Kirk to the Angels this season, only to be claimed back by Sandy Alderson.
On the other hand, den Dekker did not receive much playing time in the majors, as he was injured in 2013, leading to Juan Lagares becoming the everyday centerfielder. Kirk mostly served as the fourth outfielder on the Mets, causing Matt to stay in the minors.
Both players were sent away in the early part of the season, and John Mayberry Jr. was considered to be the fourth outfielder. Mayberry Jr. stumbled out of the gate, but has been heating up as of late. The problem with Mayberry Jr. being the fourth outfielder, is that the team is forced to play Michael Cuddyer in the outfield later in the game, and Mayberry Jr. is more likely to serve as a pinch-hitter, and be removed from the game. Ceciliani can serve as a defensive replacement, and a pinch runner off the bench.
In Friday’s game against Atlanta, we saw Ceciliani come off the bench and get a base hit off Alex Wood, steal second, and score on Cuddyer’s double. On Saturday’s game, Ceciliani had a nice play on a fly ball down the left field line, and made a nice throw to d’Arnaud to get Cameron Maybin out at the plate. There would not be many fly balls dropping in the outfield with Ceciliani, Lagares and Curtis Granderson patrolling the outfield, which would help the pitching staff quite a bit.
If Terry Collins decides to utilize Ceciliani as a defensive replacement, the 2015 team could have a player similar to Endy Chavez. From 2006 to 2008, we saw Chavez get a decent amount of at-bats, and he performed fairly well considering he was never a starting outfielder with the Mets. Ceciliani has the chance to be a special player for the Mets, even if it is off the bench. Hopefully he continues to improve and experience success when he is given the opportunity.
Love what he showing so far. Can’t ask for more than that at this point in his career. Good defense certainly helps.
Wonder how Ceciliani handled the news that the Mets are bringing back Nieuwenhuis? However he did it internally, hitting a HR today was the best response of all.
I know his production over the past four days has been fun to watch, but we need to hold our horses. He is 37 at-bats into his career. I would love to see him become a long-stay as a fourth outfielder, but he needs to be productive in the dog days of summer before we can truly get excited about him.
Great point Julian. He had a great weekend, and hopefully he can continue to produce. I do not think he will be a starter, but he can give Cuddyer a day off here and there. Plus, he is a viable defensive replacement towards the end of the game, and that should not fade as we progress into summer.
Pleasant surprise. I’ve been pounding the drum for a real 4th OF since early in the offseason. I still think an OF injury woukd be a disaster.
He had a nice series and I am glad for him. His minor league career was not exceptional so I don’t see him as a solution. He is on the major league roster because he can play centerfield and he bats lefthanded. The Mets would be better served getting a veteran fourth outfielder for the pennant drive.
Agree. He’s been a pleasant surprise. I can’t believe they resigned Kirk. What are they going to do with him? Isn’t it true that he’s cleared waivers twice now? So, the Mets see something in him that no one else does? It’s time to move on, especially when a kid comes up and makes a good first impression like Ceciliani has.