In 2012 the New York Daily News reported, when asked about the state of the Mets’ outfield, Sandy Alderson replied, “Outfield? What outfield? We’re probably gonna have to bring the fences in another 150 feet!” This comment was made after the 2012 season, where the outfield was Jason Bay, Lucas Duda, Scott Hairston, and Andres Torres. The options have improved, and Terry Collins has a problem on his hands, and that having six guys who can play outfield. Some may consider this a good problem, as the Mets have solid options.
This past offseason, Alderson signed 3-time All-Star Curtis Granderson to a 4-yrs/$60 million deal to play right field, and provide protection for David Wright. Chris Young became the next acquisition, as he signed a 1-yr/$7.25 million contract. Young was hoping to get at-bats throughout the season, and that the Mets were hoping Young would be insurance in case Juan Lagares did not produce enough offensively. The Mets had NL stolen bases leader Eric Young Jr. as another option for the outfield. With four options for the outfield to open the season, Alderson wanted a bat to strengthen the bench, and signed Bobby Abreu. Also Kirk Nieuwenhuis was called up when Lagares was out, and stayed on the roster while Wilmer Flores was sent down. This is where we stand today, six outfielders for three spots.
Granderson will be in the lineup everyday, as the Mets need his bat and glove in the lineup. He is second on the team with 10 home runs, and is having a solid season. Lagares is one of the best defensive center fielders in the game, and the question has been whether he would hit enough to be successful in the majors. Before his injury, he hit .294 and had a .335 OBP. As long as he keeps up that production, Terry Collins will be putting him in the starting lineup. This leaves one more opening.
Among Abreu, Young and Young Jr., each have their own specific tool. Abreu gets on base, as his OBP is .368, and has hit the ball well, as his average for the last ten games is .320. Young has provided power, as he has hit seven homers this season, and he has shown in the past that he can put the ball into the bleachers, by hitting at least 20 homers in four seasons. Young Jr. provides speed, as he has stolen 18 bases in 20 attempts. Now the question is which one to start.
Although he has struggled this season, it would make sense for Collins to play Young since he has been playing well in the past couple of games, hitting .292 in his last ten games, and he hit three homers against Oakland. Young provides power that would enable the Mets to bat Granderson leadoff, and take some pressure off the rest of the lineup. Young’s career numbers in the second half are a little better than his first half numbers, as he has hit .241 in the second half and.228 in the first half. Even if the average is below .250, there would be more power added to the lineup. If Young begins to struggle, then it makes sense for Young Jr. to play, but as of now, let’s see what Young can do in an everyday role.
a better outfield, for sure, than we’ve had in quite some time. A BB-ref stat showed them the 4th best unit in the NL.
Side note, “public announcement” a la Name – the real sparkplug on this team doesn’t steal bases.
The Mets are now 15-12 this year with Anthony Recker behind the dish. That follows a 20-14 record the year before.
So a combined *30 games under .500* when playing anyone but Recker, and 9 games over .500 when playing him.
edit~ and now you know why I’m a little harder on Travis D’Arnaud.
~JGrote
Thank you for reading Jerry! It’s nice to watch an outfield made up of solid big league talent.
That’s an interesting stat with Anthony Recker as well, it seems that every game he plays, something good happens. I think the Mets should play d’Arnaud everyday, as he’s finally starting to hit at the big league level and is the catcher of the future. I do like Recker a lot, and think he is a perfect backup catcher.
seems like the better record with Recker behind is merely coincidence as it is with EY starting as well.
Prior to yesterday, Recker had a 485 OPS in the last 2 months, so it’s not like he was contributing in any way offensively.
Negative, but a nice try.
First of all, outside of a few game spurt here at the end, TDA has contributed the most to our negative offensive and defensive ratings at C.
But beyond that, our pitching staff pitches to nearly a full run’s worth of ERA worse than with Decker.
Team ERA with Decker, roughly 3.25. With DarNo, roughly 4. I’d say a run a game is more than just “coincidence”.
If the Mets started Abreu then they would be starting their best hitting left fielder. That would be a benefit for the present 2014 team and as long as Abreu hits he may look appealing for a contending team in need of a DH and can be moved by Aug 31st. Sandy is good at extracting minor league talent in these type of trades. The Mets would then be maximizing the present and possibly the future ( or though realistically luck would be involved).
EY Jr and CY could fill in for the days Abreu gets rested (often) and later in games for defense. Kirk has been hitting the ball real hard but there really is no spot on the current roster for him.
Thank you for reading Metsense!
It’s an interesting point you bring up with starting Abreu. Alderson has done well with those types of deals as well, but I think the same could be said about starting CY. He is only on a one year deal, and if a team wants power, I think he could net us some talent as well.
It makes sense for Kirk to be sent down to AAA and play everyday. I am glad to see him start hitting in the majors, but it may make sense to build up either CY or Abreu’s value and see what the Mets may get in return in the coming weeks.
The most I see of CY is a platoon in LF. He has horrendous numbers vs left handed pitching 315/279/594, but they are better than Abreu’s (231/231/462) or EY Jr’s (225/255/481) .
Abreu vs rhp is 400/450/850 which is solid production compared to EY Jrs 356/333/689.
So the conclusion is an CY/Abreu platoon but TC prefers EY Jr so that won’t happpen.
Thanks for the read Metsense! I wouldn’t mind seeing a platoon in LF either. Abreu has been a pleasant surprise, and could help out. I would like to see CY keep playing and hopefully he can come around, but Collins will probably continue playing EY.
The current state of the outfield shows how little this FO seems to understand about player personnel, or player value.
In any event my fear that CY playing well for a game or two would lead to extended playing time seems to be borne out here. He’s had a terrible season, and starting him on a regular basis is a recipe for the 90 losses we are destined for. Sure he had a two homer game, the same game we beat up the As like they were a high school team. Throw that day out. In reality he is a so-so outfielder with a poor arm (can you believe from short CF he threw the ball on a play home that hit pitchers mound and didn’t make it to TdA in the air?) and some sort of dream of being a power hitter. Unfortunately his 7.25M contract has been a trash can fire fueled with crispy new 100$ bills. Abreu is really only a spot starter and not an every day guy like Byrd was, no matter how much production he can give. I’d keep Lagares in center and Granny in right every day. Most days I start EY in left, then Abreu, and lastly CY maybe once a week. He’s earned his bench time IMO.
Thanks for the read Chris F! I understand what you are saying about CY. He’s looked downright foolish out there at times throughout the season, but I do not understand why you want to completely disregard his series against the A’s. It may be luck, but maybe he is seeing the ball better now. I know it’s a big wish for him to be a power hitter, but I would have played him a couple of more games to see if his offensive production would improve. I agree he shouldn’t be a CF, but I think he deserves some more time in LF. I think Collins agrees with you, and I think we will be seeing more EY in the future.
Good article. Surprised you didn’t give Nieuwenhuis more props. His shorter swing is making him a good candidate for LF where he would be a plus defender. He’s got speed and some power.
Vs. a RHSP I would much prefer Capt. Kirk to either of the incompetent Youngs. Forget the salaries. Play the guy who can help and who has potential.
Abreu is likely the best hitter but gives a lot of that back with limited range in the OF. It would be nice if the team could trade him for a B-level prospect.
Thank you for the kind words Laurence! I like Kirk a lot, and he has looked better since being called up. For now though, I think they should send him down to get more playing time in AAA.
I like what you said about playing the guy who can help out as well, that’s why I like how the Mets are playing Eric Campbell, and I think Kirk can and will contribute later this season.
Abreu provides the ability to get on base, and I think the Mets could flip him for a prospect later on, as a contending team may want his leadership and bat off the bench.
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