When we last saw T.J. Rivera, he was getting seven hits in 13 at-bats. That’s not usually production that gets you sent down but he was called up as an injury replacement and when the walking wounded returned, he was sent back to Las Vegas. Now with Neil Walker out on paternity leave and Rivera back with the big club, it will be interesting to see what happens with the Bronx product.
He played all over this year for the 51s, seeing time at 1B, 2B, 3B and LF. Will the Mets have him replace Walker at 2B or will they look at Wilmer Flores at 2B, instead? Flores has seemingly settled into a platoon role at 1B with James Loney but if he’s going to be a full-time player with the Mets, 2B is likely his best shot at this point.
We’ve heard rumors of the Mets talking extension with Walker, which would close off that position for Flores. He’s developed into quite a lefty masher – 1.037 OPS versus southpaws this season – and no one should be unhappy if that’s the role for him on the club going forward. Yet Flores still has age on his side and it’s possible that a team may view him as more than a platoon guy going forward.
Plus, it’s far from a sure thing that Loney will be back in 2017. If Lucas Duda is able to make it back, will the Mets be looking to platoon at 1B? Duda is a lefty and it wouldn’t be a crazy idea. But in 2015, Duda had an .878 OPS against LHP in 132 PA. That could be nothing more than a one-year fluke. Still, it would not be insane to believe that a healthy Duda could handle the full-time job.
With the Mets’ abundance of lefty hitting outfielders, there might be PA for a lefty masher there. But the Mets, who were willing to play Flores at SS, have never displayed a willingness to have him put on an outfielder’s mitt. It’s probably the right move. Still, with their willingness to move guys to positions that they haven’t played before, drawing the line there seems … odd.
A guy on the short side of a platoon should have no trouble clearing 200 PA in a year where no one misses significant time. Like that could ever happen with the Mets. Regardless, a plain backup is another story. Would Flores, or any of his fans, be happy with a full season in the majors and 150 PA? We saw what happened earlier in the year when Flores was used in this role and it wasn’t pretty. Can he survive in the majors with sporadic playing time?
If the Mets re-sign Walker, does that mean the club should double its efforts to find a new home for Flores? A strong effort by Rivera the remainder of 2016 might make that an easier choice for the front office.
Rivera doesn’t have much of a track record in the majors but we’ve seen him hit at every level he’s been in. He’s not a defensive whiz, but neither is Flores. However, you want your bench players to be strong with at least one particular skill. With Flores, we know he can hit lefties. Meanwhile, Rivera has displayed no strong split in the minors. Through 2015, Rivera had a .779 OPS versus LHP and a .766 mark against RHP. This year, he’s actually been better against righties (.902) than lefties (.844) in his combined appearances in the majors and minors.
Would Rivera’s “steadiness” be more of an asset off the bench than Flores’ ability to hit LHP?
Regardless of what they decide with Flores, the Mets figure to have a busy offseason configuring their bench and starters. The pieces don’t seem to be an ideal fit right now and it will be curious to see decisions they make going forward. The health of Duda and the ultimate decision with Walker will be driving decisions.
Meanwhile, Rivera needs to continue to hit in whatever chances he may get the remainder of 2016. I like it when the org soldiers get a shot. Regardless what happens going forward, Rivera at least got a couple of stints in the majors. He earned those and most fans are happy for him. But he’ll need to continue to earn those going forward. Let’s see how much he gets to play the next few days.
They don’t need complete answers to 2017 until the Trade Deadline in 2017—but they desperately need to establish a Starting Point that resolves the limitation and duplications on this Roster.
Flores is greatly limited, but he has some value—he’s young, he’s cheap, and he may provide enough positional versatility (plus dh?) to enable them to use him on the roster or in trade.
Decisions on Flores and TJ for the future will depend largely on what will happen with re-signing Walker plus the health of Duda and David Wright. If the latter is to be written off, you still have Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera plus Gavin Cecchini and possibly Amed Rosario.
Flores does not belong at either 3B or SS. His footwork is too slow and that impacts his poor throwing. He offers more pop, and is younger than Rivera. We have to see more of TJ at the major league level to know what we have.
I hope both get a chance to do well the remainder of this year so that they might be enhancements in a possible off-season trade.
A LHP starts the series so both TJ and Flores could start tonight. The veteran Johnson with his inverted splits would be my choice over TJ tonight. The next two games are against RHP so it should be Johnson and Loney starting. Walker will be back Friday and TJ will be gone until September.
Rugianno should play CF tonight. I also prefer Granderson over Bruce tonight. Niese needs to have a solid game. I am uncomfortable starting Niese but there is really no other choice. I guess it is true, you can never have enough pitching.
I think there’s one thing we can say about TC and that’s using an inverted split rarely happens.
I think Rivera deserves a shot. I like youth in the lineup. Hope Duda and Loney both leave. Great article