In 2014 Lucas Duda took over as the Mets starting first baseman. He played 153 games that year, and in 2015 he played 135 games. However, in 2016 he was limited to only 47 games due to a back injury, although he did return late in the season. Assuming his back has healed, should the Mets just plug Duda back into the lineup as the every day first sacker for 2017?
That move would seem logical at first glance, since fill-in first baseman James Loney was mediocre at best, and likely will not return to the Mets for the upcoming season. But there is another option. Instead of handing first base over to Duda, they could turn to a platoon solution. A platoon of left-handed batter Duda and right-handed batter Wilmer Flores might give the Mets the most bang for their buck.
Duda has generally not hit well against left-handers. In 2016 his slash line against lefties was just .133/.188/.267. He did do better against right-handers, his line was .252/.329/.447. Hardly remarkable, but it can be assumed his back hindered him, and hopefully he can improve his performance in 2017 to close to his previous form. Don’t forget, in 2014 he hit 30 homers, and 27 long balls in 2015.
Flores, on the other hand, murders left-handed pitching. His 2016 slash line versus lefties was .340/.383/.710. Against right-handers, his line was .232/.289/.353. A platoon has the potential to provide considerable offensive production.
Flores played in 103 games in 2016, he too had some injury woes. Only 27 of those games were at first base, and they were the only games he has played at that position in the majors. Flores has played more games in his career at the other infield positions, but the consensus is that he is below average in fielding those positions. From the eyeball test, his main problem has been in throwing, his release is a little slow and not as accurate as one would like. At first base, long throws are rare, so his throwing should not be much of a liability. He does have the kind of quickness and hands to be very good at fielding grounders from the first base spot. It might be wise for the Mets to give Flores plenty of reps at first base during spring training.
If this plan was followed, the 2017 Met infield could have the Duda/Flores platoon at first, and then switch-hitters in the rest of the infield with Neil Walker at second, Asdrubal Cabrera at short, and Jose Reyes at third. Presumably David Wright would get some starts at third mainly against left-handers, and Flores could get some starts at second base to give an occasional break to Walker.
The Met first baseman of the future is likely highly-rated prospect Dominic Smith, still in the minor leagues. But for 2017, a platoon of Duda and Flores could provide the Mets with decent defense and dynamic offense at the first base position.
That’s exactly how I see it going down. Plus we have TJ Rivera as extra depth. We won’t have any gold glovers or MVPs in the infield but it should be at least adequate.
Give Flores a shot and he just might come through big,really big.
Nice piece,
I think that Smith could be called up if the Flores/Duda platoon scuffles and he succeeds in Las Vegas.
It’s also possible the Mets would look to add a power right-handed veteran if Cespedes isn’t re-signed.
Thanks Dave, and probably the Mets would sign a power hitting veteran if Cespedes walks, and also hopefully that veteran would be an outfielder, not a first baseman.
Duda had an outstanding 2015 season vs LHP 132 AB 285/333/545/878 7 HR but Flores 2016 season vs LHP was even better so a platoon makes the most sense. It would maximise the production from the first base position. This is Duda’s last season as a Met with Dominic Smith on the horizon. Even if Smith is not ready in 2018 (for whatever reason) , Duda would not be signing a one year 2018 free agent contract. Therefore I would suspect, if feasable, that the Mets may look to shop him at the trade deadline, especially if Smith is ready by then.
I like Flores and feel he is underrated. This is a really good idea. It would be also interesting to see what Flores could do if he played full time and got 500 AB. Good article.
Thanks Mike, and if Neil Walker had not taken the qualifying offering, I would have given Flores a shot at second base full time.
A healthy Duda platooning with Wilmer would likely be very productive and could save some wear and tear on the big guy’s back. But back issues tend to recur. For that reason I would hope that Michael Conforto and/or Jay Bruce (assuming he isn’t soon traded) play enough spring training games at 1B so as to be able to step into the long half of a platoon should Duda find his way back onto the DL.