What will the Las Vegas infield look like in 2015?

The Las Vegas 51s performed outstandingly well in 2014 going 81-63 and leading the Pacific – South Division, lost to the Diamondback affiliate, Reno Aces, in the semifinals of the Triple-A playoffs. With some players making there way to the majors in 2015 and some players making the jump from Double-A where does that leave Las Vegas going into 2015?

Kevin Plawecki looks to be the starting catcher for the 51s on Opening Day. With Travis d’Arnaud‘s resurgence after coming back from Triple-A last year, it seems like a very poor decision to not give d’Arnaud the starting position going into 2015. It is possible that one of d’Arnaud or Plawecki be traded in a package deal in exchange for a shortstop of left fielder, more likely Plawecki even though the organization thinks very highly of him. With Juan Centeno being claimed by the Brewers, it leaves the Mets with two options to back up Plawecki, which are Xorge Carrillo and Kai Gronauer, who both split time between Vegas and Binghamton .

In 2014, the time at first was split between Allan Dykstra, who the Mets traded 2007 top pick Eddie Kunz for, and Brandon Allen, who also spent time out in left field. Dykstra also spent time a significant amount of time in DH spot when not starting at first and with Lucas Duda the major league first baseman it does not seem likely for the Mets to bring up Dykstra unless he fills in on the bench for a short period of time. The Mets do have Jayce Boyd in Binghamton who at some point in 2015 could look to take a trip out to Vegas after a very good campaign in 2014 hitting .293/.382/.414.

Second base is a little more of a situation compared to the rest as there is a logjam of talent at the major league level potentially pushing someone down to Triple-A. Daniel Murphy played the majority of second base in 2014, but slid over to third when David Wright went down allowing Dilson Herrera to make the jump up from Binghamton and make a few starts. If Murphy is not traded then Herrera does not have a spot on the major league roster unless the Mets try him out at shortstop, which he has some experience at, but would likely not be thrown into the major league shortstop role Opening Day 2015. If the Mets acquire a major league shortstop this off-season then the Mets organization would need to figure out where Wilmer Flores is going.

There are a few players that the Mets have that will combine to make most of the starts between second base, shortstop, and third base out in Vegas. First of which is Daniel Muno, who split time between all three in 2014, and could play any of the positions heading into 2015 depending on who else starts in Vegas. Muno has risen through the Mets farm system rather quickly, and came in third on the team in both home runs, RBIs, and walks and led the team in runs scored. Muno could be one of the players who surprises Mets fans with a call-up later in the season, if he is not taken in as a part of the Rule 5 draft. Matt Reynolds is another player who could be on the infield in 2015 for Vegas and he won the Sterling Award for Vegas this past season. There have been talks of bring up Reynolds to play shortstop or be on the bench for the Mets after putting up great numbers in 68 games for Vegas. L.J. Mazzilli, son of former Met Lee Mazzilli, received a call-up near the end of the season to Vegas and played in one regular season game and three playoff games. In the four games, Mazzilli got three hits in nine at bats. Mazzilli probably has a spot in Binghamton to play a little bit more before permanently making the move to the desert. T.J. Rivera, who spent half a season in Binghamton could also end up seeing some time in Triple-A in the not so distant future. Rivera is also eligible to be drafted in the Rule 5 draft, but is no longer viewed as a top prospect as he is already 25 and has yet to play above Double-A. Josh Satin looks to be making a reappearance in Triple-A for the fifth consecutive season after being removed from the 40-man roster to protect other players from the Rule 5 draft. Satin has been given cups of coffee over the past few years, but has not been able to stay up and lost his bench spot to Eric Campbell this past year.

A lot of what happens at the major league level for the Mets is going to determine where the Triple-A infield will stand come Opening Day. Will Plawecki be in the majors or will he even still be a Met? What will the Mets do with Murphy, and Flores, and Herrera , and Reynolds who all could see time in the majors at second base? Aside from first base, which seems to be pretty set there will be a revolving door of players making up the rest of the infield and we could end up seeing some of these players