Much has been made these last few months of the Mets need for an upgrade at shortstop, though some are happy with the in-house options available. One of the biggest factors for this contentment is that anyone who would serve as an upgrade would come either at the cost of a high free agency signing (Hanley Ramirez, J.J. Hardy) or via a costly trade (anyone from the Cubs). But there are other options.
Trevor Plouffe is one of those under-the-radar guys. Some of you may be thinking, Hey, he’s is not a shortstop. But in fact he is. We can all be forgiven for not knowing that because the last time he played there was for one game in 2012, and before that for 45 games in 2011. However, before coming to the majors for the Twins it was his primary position, and when you’ve played a position for over 700 games, you don’t forget how to do it. The one wrinkle is that he doesn’t seem to be the best fielder.
In his brief major league innings at SS, he holds a total UZR of -8.5. Then again he also holds a -11.5 UZR at 3B, where he’s played much more frequently. That trend reversed itself in 2014 as he put up his best defensive season thus far, with a 6.7 UZR in over 1100 innings at third. One could glean from this that he is suited more for third base than SS, and since we already have a stellar defensive third baseman, we don’t need him. Plouffe overs more than just a threadbare glove though.
Plouffe hit 14 home runs each of the last two years in Minnesota and 24 in 2012. More importantly than those power numbers (which might not translate over to Citi Field) is the fact that Plouffe is one of only eight players to have 40 or more doubles in 2014. Those will most certainly carry over to the cavernous proportions of Citi Field, fences brought in or not. As he’s received more playing time each year in the majors, his doubles have gone up, leading to a comfortable assumption that while 40 may be his ceiling, he could certainly do 25+ again.
As many of us know, power is hard to come by nowadays. The fiscal Mets should look for these underrated hitters who can send the ball deep into the gaps, versus guys trying to muscle the ball over our oddly shaped walls. A bonus to acquiring Plouffe is that he most likely won’t cost either a Noah Syndergaard or a Zack Wheeler in a trade. Instead we might be able to ship out a gaggle of second-tier prospects, which the Mets have an assortment of.
And since he is adept at playing multiple positions, if Plouffe doesn’t pan out as a reliable everyday shortstop, we can always revert back to the Wilmer Flores plan and use both Plouffe and Eric Campbell as super-utility men all over the diamond. Should Flores need to be traded for Plouffe, it might then be time for the Mets front office to go big and trade for an Addison Russell or someone similar. If not, there are adequate temporary solutions in Ruben Tejada, Campbell, or possibly even Matt Reynolds.
Plouffe is not the answer that will fix the entire offense, and he has flaws that shouldn’t be glossed over. His defense is suspect, but so is Flores’ who is garnering serious consideration as the starting shortstop in 2015. Target Field plays a lot more home run happy than Citi Field, but as home runs aren’t his whole game, that isn’t a deal breaker. He also brings less stolen base potential than Lucas Duda, and strikes out a bit too much. While his .258/.328/.423 slash line isn’t setting the world on fire, those are extremely nice numbers coming from an anemic position like shortstop, and those stats have been either consistently going up or staying relatively stable for the past three years.
As 15 home runs and a few dozen doubles may be all the difference in offense the Mets need, he is a more affordable option to get the job done than setting hopes on getting the next home run king. He is in essence his own backup plan as well, and his versatility shouldn’t be ignored. He isn’t the sexiest name out there, but he seems to be the right kind of guy to seal up a hole the Mets have.
Plus I like saying Plouffe.
Patrick, because I have followed Plouffe ever since he first became a regular (plus he was on my fantasy team), I can say the following:
– Flores is just as good if not better, fielding and hitting.
– Plouffe game is power from the SS position, but even in the minors has never hit for a high average, while striking out a bit too much. On the Twins, lack of contact doesn’t fly.
– Plouffe tried changing his approach to take more pitches and that resulted in a few more walks, but I would rather have Flores.
– Plouffe has been moved to 3B they didn’t have a better alternative at 3B, and they had one for SS.
I don’t know much of Plouffes day to day fielding, but it seems that his present club knows him well…and they’ve decided that he cannot play SS.
I’m also not a big fan of UZR, but his -11.5 at 3b tell you that he’s
Definitely (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) not a Shortstop. Maybe he’s a Statue…or a Butcher,,,Hey, maybe he’s a Statue of a Butcher!!!—but he’s not a Shortstop.
A Flores for Plouffe Trade????? That’s sort of like taking a New pair of pants and an older pair of pants, ripping out the pockets of both, then sewing the older pockets in the new pants and the new pockets in the older pants.
It’s a lot of trouble….and all you end up with is new pockets in older pants, and older pockets in newer pants.
Could happen…….could happen!
I laughed!
Interesting point Patrick, never really thought about Plouffe fitting into the Mets’ plans, but it would be interesting to think about. If he could play 1B, I think it would be a smart move for the Mets, as the Mets could platoon him with Duda, and if Wright needed a break, Plouffe could fill in.
Im not sure why you looked at Plouffe as the underrated option when the Twins have 3 better options for SS. Plouffe didn’t play there at all in 2013 or 2014, and played just 1 inning in 2012. The other 3 options are Danny Santana, Eduardo Escobar, and Brian Dozier. The only for sure non-liability at SS in that group seems to be Eduardo Escobar. The others could probably masquerade as a SS if they provide enough offense.
The good thing is that the Twins are desperate for Major league SP, which the Mets supposedly have some to spare.
My proposed trade would be:
Wheeler and Flores for Dozier, Arcia or Santana, and a top prospect (not gonna get a Buxton or Sano, but might be able to get a Nick Gordon or Jorge Polanco)
If the Twins were willing to take on Gee instead, i’d ask for one of Dozier/Escobar/Santana straight up
Name, the Twins do offer some interesting options and are pitching starved. Dozier or Santana would be an upgrade to Flores.
Patrick, I see value in your approach to add length to the lineup instead of one big expensive bat. The salary restrictions make that approach very plausible.
Salary will need to be moved in order to bring in salary, be it by trade or free agency.