Two things are starting to become obvious about the Mets left field situation. To start, rumors are swirling that Chris Young will be released prior to the expansion of rosters in September. Young has just not been good enough to remain on this roster with other, younger options available that will be a part of this team beyond this season. The other is that the Mets are not connected with any outside players, whether it be Alex Rios, Marlon Byrd, Rusney Castillo or any other outfielder that could be available.
By acknowledging those two pieces of information we are lead to the conclusion that the Mets will attempt to solve the left field problem (.201 AVG, 574 OPS, brutal) by using already in house solutions. The concept of an “in house solution” leads inevitably to Matt den Dekker.
Earlier this week, reports came out that the Mets were considering promoting den Dekker. Instead they designated Bobby Abreu for assignment and decided to promote Kirk Nieuwenhuis, which makes sense considering that Young is still on the team. Nieuwenhuis appears to be a classic fourth outfielder who has shown the ability to come off of the bench and potentially hit with power. He will be a key part of the Mets bench moving forward, but shouldn’t be looked at as a potential every day option. In fact, no one on the current major league roster really fits the bill of a potential regular in left field in 2015. Eric Young Jr. has proven this year to be no more than a bench player, pinch runner and spot starter. Eric Campbell looks good, but he’s barely played left field and profiles, due to his lack of power, into a super sub type bench role. In fact, the three players, outside of Young, that currently spend sporadic time in left field, all look like they will fill important bench roles in the future of the team.
Unfortunately filling left field with bench players, considering that the Mets don’t have big bats at short stop or center field, will not lead the team to success. So, acknowledging this, the Mets really only have two options moving forward. The first is to acquire a left fielder, either via trade or free agency, in the offseason. The second is to find an in house option that can play every day or in a suitable platoon. This is where den Dekker comes in.
den Dekker has not been successful thus far in the major leagues. Over 112 major league plate appearances, den Dekker has compiled a .184 average with a 493 OPS and an abysmal 32% strike out rate. However, this is a really short sample period and den Dekker is a notorious slow starter at each level he’s played at. Just take a look at his Triple-a statistics. In his first trip to Triple-a in 2012, den Dekker hit .220 with a 629 OPS, a 29% strike out rate and a 4.5% walk rate. His 2013 season was adversely effected by a spring training injury, but when he did make it to Triple-a he hit .296 with an 852 OPS, a 23% strike out rate and a 10% walk rate. This season, over 380 plate appearances, den Dekker has hit .331 with a 936 OPS, a 17% strike out rate and a 10% walk rate.
When you add those improvements with terrific defense, a plus arm in the outfield and his intriguing power speed combination, it’s time for the Mets to promote den Dekker, play him every day and see what they have. If den Dekker produces, then it lightens the load a little bit on the type of move they need to make this off season (most likely for a top notch short stop). If he plays poorly, at least they know what they have in den Dekker and can attack the left field situation accordingly.
Is den Dekker the solution? The odds say no, but what’s the harm in taking a close look at him? The Mets can make believe they are in the playoff hunt all they want, but unless they get to 500 in the next two weeks, that is a pipe dream. So unless the Mets are going to make a move over the waiver wire, a la Rios, then den Dekker needs to be the guy getting the bulk of at bat’s in the outfield next to Juan Lagares and Curtis Granderson. At the very least, that would be about as entertaining a defensive outfield as there is in all of baseball. At the most, the Mets could find themselves not needing to look far for their third starting outfielder in 2015.
Especially if they’re not going to be in the wildcard race. There is absolutely no way CY should be here in September or even mid August. I’d rather lose with the kids learning then have a past his prime player taking a spot on the 40 man roster.
My thought is that Kirk got here first, and has had some success this year, and so should get the first shot. But i could care less which one got the shot as long as it’s not CY or EY.
generally agree. I think of MDD & KN as essentially the same player – both at least good fielders, both show some power, both have some issues with contact.
MDD should have been given the nod to come up first simply because he was performing, or as SA likes to say, he was being “accountable”.
Something in my core tells me they drop Chris Young, bring up MDD (or whatever. Another LV name) and he promptly gives the rest of the ABs in the OF to EY in the name of the need to “win games”.
Damn Grote! i was just thinking about how could TC screw up the last 2 months of the season. The perfect ending!
Yes, at this point it’s stupid to waste ABs on the Youngsn and Tejada. Period.
I think MDD is a much better defensive player than Kirk.
I also think while they profile similarly offensively, that MDD is the superior player there, too. The big think will be the K-rate. The most impressive thing about MDD’s play in Triple-A has been his contact rate. Since being sent back to the minors, MDD has a 13.5 K% in 192 PA.
It is the logical move to make by the Mets. But then, so to is designating Chris Young who is still here. As Sandy the Genius said recently, “September is just around the corner”.
The other factor is that Collins “The Imbecile” would continue to play CY because “they need to win games” or “have not time to develop players at the ML” especially when you have stud players like CY or EY on the roster.
Don’t worry, is only another wasted year in which the only question answered was who will play 1B going forward. In 2015 we can answer who will take over for Tejada, 2016 who will play LF, 2017 who will take over for Collins, etc.
For those who think that we have a great GM and manager, ask yourself this question. If they weren’t working for the Mets, which team would hire them in those capacities? what? The Long Island Ducks?
den Dekker really only has to show patience at the plate to succeed. He has some pop, good speed, and great defense, things you generally can’t teach. I like Scott’s point about MDD taking a while to adjust to the level he’s playing at, but that’s doesn’t necessarily bode well for him sticking with the NY club. If he can make that last big jump in his game and make it stick, I have absolutely no problem with a MDD, JL, CG outfield, provided that big hitting shortstop we want comes through.
Wish granted. See ya, CY, all the best in your future endeavors.
Harper’s home run has opened the door for 2015.
Flores is now going to get the starts at SS. CY is see ya. MDD auditions his new low strikeout total on the big stage.
We now get to see what 2015 may look like.
The Mets need a SS and LF and playing these players is probably not going to change that assumption but it may let the Mets know how much major league depth they actually have.
Take Note!!!
On August 7th, the Mets were 54-61, with a Pythag of I believe 57-58. There were 47 games left.
With 115 games in, there were 47 games left or roughly 188 plate appearances more to go at SS, CF and LF.
PA/OPS as of that point (OPS actually includes last night):
MDD 49 .424
KN 74 .811
EC 136 .738
WF 105 .580
JL 309 .685
RT 350 .620
EYJ 257 .602
Nearly 200 more plate appearances left. Let’s see how Terry Collins uses them and what the team gets out of them. To this point, 1-0. 4 hits, 12 ABs, 2 RBI, 3 K.