The 2015 Mets have a weak link and it’s not what you think. Mets fans want to start the season with a complete team, free of glaring weaknesses at any given position. Every third blog post has been about upgrading over Wilmer Flores, as if mortgaging the future for a proven veteran shortstop to replace a young, homegrown, cheap player with offensive potential would put us in the World Series. Flores is not the weak link.
Shortstop is not his natural position, but it is the only open one he can play. If Flores blossoms into a really good hitter, he could become a super sub or our next second baseman if Daniel Murphy moves on. The Mets owe Flores a chance to see if he could be a star, or at least the next Johnny Peralta. If, worst case scenario, Flores flops, we have a proven backup and the pieces to trade for one of the Cubs’ three shortstops.
Meanwhile we have bigger fish to fry. Who steps in when Michael Cuddyer gets hurt? He’s a great guy with a big bat, but his signing is the second coming of Moises Alou. When Cuddyer is healthy he will give us that second potent righty bat that is so desperately needed in the middle of the Mets’ lineup. He’ll play some outfield, first base, DH, pinch hit, and provide support for his buddy David Wright. And, as long as he stays healthy, the Mets lineup should score more than enough runs to support a stellar pitching staff.
Cuddyer is 36 with a long history of injuries. When he inevitably goes on the DL, we wind up with a left field platoon of John Mayberry, Jr. and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, with Lucas Duda facing lefties like Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner, Gio Gonzales and Cole Hamels. And who DH’s or pinch hits? The bench, as currently constituted, includes AAAA players like Mayberry, Nieuwenhuis (or Matt DenDekker who is essentially the same player), Anthony Recker, Ruben Tejada and Eric Campbell. Where’s the big scary bat off the bench to pinch hit in the 9th, DH against AL teams and step in for Alou, I mean, Cuddyer when he gets hurt?
There are a number of linchpins to a successful 2015 – Harvey, Wright and Parnell returning from injury, Jon Niese staying healthy, Travis d’Arnaud and Juan Lagares progressing, Curtis Granderson bouncing back, etc. But keeping Cuddyer off the DL, or finding a good insurance policy for when he gets hurt may be the biggest linchpin of all. A healthy Cuddyer is an asset. An injured Cuddyer is a disaster.
The biggest mistake Sandy Alderson has made this offseason is not failing to get a shortstop. Any GM can swap star prospects for an unproven or aging shortstop, or one who’s in the last year of his contract. However, a smart GM doesn’t place so much importance on the health of an injury prone veteran. The mistake wasn’t in signing Cuddyer. The mistake was in signing Mayberry instead of Michael Morse to save a few bucks.
He didn’t have the money for a new Ferrari, so Alderson bought a used one. He’d better hope it doesn’t spend too long in the shop because his alternative mode of transport is a moped.
More ideas for the lazy blogger:
Too much hinges on Matt Harvey’s health.
Too much hinges on David Wright’s health.
Too much hinges on Juan Lagares’s health.
Too much hinges on Jacob DeGrom’s health.
Too much hinges on Lucas Duda’s health.
Too much hinges on Travis D’Arnaud’s health.
Too much hinges on Bartolo Colon’s health.
Too much hinges on Terry Collins’s health.
Too much hinges on Mr. Met’s health.
Health is an underrated aspect of a team’s success and I don’t believe anyone thinks the Mets return to the playoffs without a big season from David Wright.
Having said that, this team can handle an injury to a position player better than most Mets teams in recent memory. The ability of Cuddyer, Flores and Murphy to man multiple positions gives them tons of flexibility. Also, with MDD/Kirk able to play all 3 OF spots and Tejada to play either MI position, the bench is not lacking flexibility, either.
While inevitably missing Cuddyer will hurt, Mayberry and Nieuwenhuis are better than replacement-level players, so I don’t think the season will be necessarily sunk if he hits the DL. Signing Morse to stick him on the bench wouldn’t have been a smart idea, especially not for a team whose owners have no money. The biggest hole on this team is still shortstop.
Haha RealityChuck. While injuries are a concern with all Mets players, this example is particularly glaring given Cuddyer’s age, injury history, multiple roles and lack of a true backup. Even if Mr. Met got injured, we now have Mrs. Met to step in.
I agree with Brian – we have better depth at every position than we have had in quite a while. Cuddyer goes on the DL? Mayberry and Kirk make a solid platoon – or they stay on the bench and whoever is hitting better in Vegas between Puello or MDD comes up. Flores stinks? Tejada starts and Reynolds comes up. Wright gets hurt again? Murphy or Flores to 3B, Herrera or Reynolds up. D’arnaud goes down? Bring up KP. Yes – these are unproven minor leaguers, but all can be capable backups at this point in time. Multiple injuries will cause problems for any team, but with our pitching, we can maintain competitiveness better than most.
Prior to this, I have been feeling a bit alone on the Cuddyer signing.
Reality is that injuries and age are organically related. There are those who can use PEDs to train harder, recover faster and even heal from injuries more quickly (hello low dose HGH!), but with today’s testing, it isn’t something we can count on.
Brian makes a good response about having some possible back up players to fill in.
I hope that David Wright is healthy, especially his shoulder, and that we get 120 healthy games from Cuddyer.
As to the pitching, I am so glad that Noah is still here. I think he is going to surprise those who have reduced him to 3rd or 4th starter due to Las Vegas.
I think he left Spring training psychologically unprepared for AAA and that, and the altitude were with him all season.
I think he will be 2015’s biggest surprise.
I also like what I am hearing from Matt Harvey. He is talking less like a kid and more like a professional athlete, staying off Page Six and going out there and practicing his craft. It is exciting.
Good article, Matt, and good response from Brian. It highlights the value of multiple position players.
While i like the potential of position players likely to start the season in AA or AAA – Herera, Plawecki, Reynolds, Nimmo, Conforti, et al, our current bench is made up of a lot of capable defensive replacements who would present a big step down in offensive production if too much is asked of them.
If the game is on the line and we need a big pinch hit It would be nice to have a better option than Neiuwenheis, Campbell, Mayberry, Tejada or Recker. And in the event of injury I’m not comfortable with any of those guys playing every day.
I also like the depth we have but have a different take on the subject. Why not use Tovar as our infield reserve over Tejada. He plays an excellent SS or 2nd, making him a viable backup. His strong defense gives us a definite late inning option. But I never see him mentioned as an option. My thinking id that Tejada has shown his value.
it wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t even have a starting outfield. This team finally has some depth and a bench. I am disappointed in that the Mets didn’t get a shortstop because Flores would make a good utility infielder with power off the bench.I don’t consider Mayberry or Kirk or MDDas mopeds if Cuddyer goes down.
At least we don’t have Collin Cowgill starting in CF.
Agreed. While there is organizational depth in the outfield, the higher-upside players do not appear to be major league ready yet. The teams that withstand injury are the ones that are able to plug in call-ups. Nieuwendekker aren’t good enough as injury insurance and our potential call-ups are not ready.
If Ruben Tejada sees substantial playing time this year, the Mets are in deep doo-doo…
Same fans who complain about Cuddy’s injury history are probably the same who say trade for Tulo..
Nieuwendekker. That’s perfect.
Aoki was the guy I wanted the Mets to sign as the forth outfielder. He has very good on base skills, hits lefties better than righties, has been consistent and would have provided a great deal of depth and flexibility to this Mets team. The fact that the Giants got him for one year is really frustrating because he was obviously there for the asking. Even if Cuddyer were to stay healthy all season, which is not very likely, there still would have been plenty of opportunities to use Aoki. I don’t care about having fast guys like Eric Young at the top of the batting order with their .299 OBP. You can’t score if you can’t get on. Aoki can get on base, which is something the World Series winning Giants seem to have understood and valued. I like and respect Sandy Alderson a great deal but sometimes I just can’t agree with his approach to roster construction.
POX, I agree 100%. A good 4th outfielder is essential and I’ll never understand why more teams don’t invest more in this key position. Inevitably, one of your three starting outfielders gets injured, plus you need a DH against AL teams, pinch hitters and fill ins for double headers and rest days. Newendekker and Mayberry are defensive replacement 5th outfielder types. Aoki would have been a good get for the Mets.