Throughout the offseason, there were two main areas of concern, and General Manager Sandy Alderson did not address either one. The first area was the bullpen’s need for another left-handed reliever to compliment Josh Edgin. It has been apparent in the past few years that using one left-handed reliever has not worked out, as Tim Byrdak, Pedro Feliciano and Scott Rice have been injured severely due to overuse. With hopes of bringing other relievers into Spring Training, the Mets are hoping to find a solid left-handed reliever, and they may need two pitchers, as Josh Edgin has elbow pain, which could lead to a trip to the disabled list.
The second area that the Mets focused on in the offseason was finding a starting shortstop, but the organization decided to find a solution internally. With candidates Wilmer Flores, Matt Reynolds and Ruben Tejada, the Mets lack star power at the position, forcing Terry Collins to play the hot hand. If Spring Training is a time to gauge just how much productivity each of these players provide, it has been tough to see who is ahead of the race.
Name Hits/ABs Homeruns RBI OBP
Wilmer Flores 10/22 (.455) 1 5 .478
Matt Reynolds 10/19 (.526) 1 3 .550
Ruben Tejada 6/21 (.286) 0 6 .333
All three players have performed well offensively throughout the first two weeks of Spring Training. Flores has lived up to his billing at short, as his offensive prowess has been on display, as he has hit.455 with a homer and five RBIs. The problem for Flores is his defense, as he has committed three errors in seven games at shortstop. Obviously this is concerning going forward, as the shortstop position is one of the most crucial defensive positions on the baseball field.
Reynolds has opened eyes this Spring Training, as he hit a walk-off homer, and has been hitting the ball at a nice rate. His .343 average in the minors last season showed that he can hit for average, and this skill may translate into the major leagues. Even though it is unlikely that Reynolds will break camp with the team, there is insurance in the infield for the organization, as Reynolds is ready to contribute at the major league level.
Tejada’s offensive numbers may not jump off the page, but it is nice to see him drive in runs, and even expand his defensive game to third base. While the power may not come through, Tejada is the best defensive player out of the three, and if his line-drive swing comes through for the next two weeks of spring, he may earn a chance at the starting shortstop job.
The current state of this shortstop battle is that Flores seems to be out in front because of his offensive upside. Tejeda is most likely to be a backup to Flores, which would provide the bench with another utility infielder, and a possible defensive replacement. Reynolds will probably start the year in Triple-A Las Vegas alongside Dilson Herrera. The next few weeks will tell us fans and the Mets management about how the shortstop situation should be handled. If Flores continues to make errors, it is going to be difficult to start him everyday, but as of now it seems that he is the most likely player to be the starting shortstop.
With Flores, I believe in the eye test, and I simply haven’t seen enough of him at SS to judge for myself. Presumably the Mets staff has. On the 3 errors, the last one was a short hope to Eric Campbell at 1B that EC couldn’t handle. A decent 1B makes that routine play.
There’s so much pressure on Flores it’s ridiculous; I’m pretty impressed with how well he’s handled himself so far. Reynolds is AAA. Tejada is a backup. It should play out like that for at least two months into the season (unless Flores fails defensively in spectacular fashion). Flores should be allowed to go through some rough patches without TC pushing the panic button and reinserting his old best pal.
Great point James, I couldn’t agree any more with you. Errors are going to happen, and there will be growing pains throughout the season with Wilmer at short. I keep hearing that he will make the routine plays, and that’s all anyone can ever ask for. I’m hoping he continues to produce offensively and improve defensively, and like you said, if the defense is a catastrophe, then Tejada should be given a chance.
After Saturday’s game, this was written on MMO:
Tejada singled, drove in two including one on a sac fly today. Then Sandy Alderson said: “Gradually you come to the conclusion that Ruben Tejada is just a placeholder. He’s not a long-term guy for us.”
You still think he has a chance to win the job?
It’s a shame Flores’ window will be so small, but if he fails to impress, Reynolds gets the next shot. There is no more Tejada in this equation.
I am not a fan of the Bartolo Colon contract/logjam, but in the highlights yesterday I saw yet another botched play by Murphy at 2B that led to a couple of runs. The day before I saw a high-bouncing ball pass over the second base bag without either Murphy or Reynolds touching the ball. They both kind of missed it.
I know that Sandy Alderson is now considered a “baseball maverick,” but holy cow, it takes an original thinker to dismiss defense up the middle. Poor glovework is going to haunt this team all season long.
Aside: If “Moneyball” was truly about seeking and finding the competitive edge — wherever it might be — I’d think that some team will move to an 11-man staff and get away from the slavery to the LOOGY concept. Six relievers should be enough; fewer outings of longer duration. Someday it is going to happen. And that team will have potentially enjoy a manpower advantage over ever competitor offensively and defensively and on the basepaths.
Which GM is going to be bold enough to go for it? (Or perhaps one has, and I’ve missed it?)
A thought I have had recently as I try to be positive. Maybe the thought is that with advanced scouting and shifting, issues with infield range can be managed?
It would make sense not to show your shifts in exhibition play. Just grasping at straws probably, but I’m trying to find some logic.
I roll my eyes every time I read about Flores and they start to discuss “positioning.”
I mean, don’t all teams do that? Is he going to be the only SS in the Majors to use it?
Teams can’t think their way out of a lack of range.
I like Flores; I want him to succeed; I support the experiment. But I also think he’s a second baseman.
James, as I remember, teams used to have six man bullpens and four starters. Then, they went to six man bullpens and five starters. Then, It became a seventh guy in the bullpen or a third catcher. Now, we have seven guys in the pen and no third catcher.
I think the five starters and six bullpen guys is enough if they are used properly, meaning:
– don’t have pitchers warm up and not pitch, if you can help it. Those warm ups take effort too and sometimes they are tired from just warming up too many times (LOL, for some reason I think of German here. It seems like German was always warming up when he was active).
– don’t use a pitcher for just one batter too often unless he just isn’t feeling it that day and you don’t have the luxury of having him try to find it.
The LOOGY concept has put a strain on bullpens. I’m not sure the baseball world is just quite ready for 11 man pitching staffs but I agree with you James that ” fewer outings of longer duration” for the 9th-12th ranked pitchers on the staff just makes more sense. Those pitchers are the weakest link on the team and should be pitching in the least pressure situation. Therefore there is no need to burn through these pitchers at an inning each only to be replaced by a similar pitcher in an apparent losing situation. These bottom pitchers should all be pitching at least two innings an outing and then maybe a team will evolve into an eleven man staff. Good post James (and the added post of TexasGusCC).
Roger McDowell threw 5 innings in Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS. Nowadays it’s considered a miracle if anybody throws 2 IP. I feel like Sparky Lyle and Tug McGraw did the same thing. I realize those are extremes, but the game has designed itself into this current mess/usage pattern; it has nothing to do with the abilities of the pitchers.
Guys like Torres and Montero could do it, I think. OTOH, the modern bullpen leans heavily on maximum effort guys who come in a throw extremely hard. I suspect that type of pitcher is less able to go any distance.
I think Flores is a lock to start the season at SS. His bat has been alive in ST and he’s done ok in the field. If he hits when the season begins, he’ll be in the lineup. I think he’ll hit and do what he has to do at SS. He’ll never be more than serviceable defensively, but if he’s a top 10 offensive SS (which he has the potential to be), then he would have to be atrocious defensively to be taken out of the lineup.
While i don’t like him as a starter, I actually think Tejada makes a fine backup utility infielder. He can back up at 3 positions and serve as a late game defensive replacement.
Flores is a lock at Ss barring injury. It should be noted the mets won each game where he commited an error. Fwiw.
That quote about tejada was from the book about sandy. It was not a recent quote about tejadas current play.
The job is Flores’s to lose. And barring something akin to a d’Arnoud 1st half performance like last year, I just don’t see it happening.
We’ll be fine with Flores at SS. It’s really not our biggest worry at this point.