The Mets have suffered some devastating injuries to their pitching staff this spring, including Josh Edgin and Zack Wheeler. However, the starting lineup has an injury that will impact the first couple of weeks. Daniel Murphy may be placed on the disabled list with a right hamstring injury, creating a need to find a second baseman to fill in until Murphy comes back.
The potential replacements for Murphy are Danny Muno and Matt Reynolds. According to Adam Rubin, General Manager Sandy Alderson prefers these two players over prospect Dilson Herrera, because if Herrera were to get injured, he would go on the major league disabled list, while Muno and Reynolds are not on the 40-man roster, therefore they would go on the minor league DL. This philosophy may be hurting the team, as Herrera arguably gives the team the best chance to succeed while Murphy is absent, however it does provide a chance for either Muno or Reynolds to step up and make a name for themselves.
26-year-old Danny Muno has not made his MLB debut yet, but he has had success in the minors. Last season, Muno hit 14 homers, drove in 62 and hit .259 with an OBP of .372. His plate discipline has helped his offensive production, as Muno struck out 82 times in 435 plate appearances. The ability to put the ball in play is a huge benefit, especially if Muno were to replace Murphy in the second spot of the lineup.
Reynolds has been mentioned throughout the spring, as he competed to become the starting shortstop. He has done well in the exhibition season, hitting .423 with a homer and three runs batted in over 13 games. In the minors last season, Reynolds hit .333 in Triple-A Las Vegas over 68 games. Reynolds features a little bit of power with a high average, providing him with an advantage if the Mets decide to go with an offensive player to play second. Muno has more experience at second base, which could provide the Mets with better defense up the middle.
The other candidate who should be considered is Ruben Tejada. Before he was the shortstop, Jose Reyes manned the position, forcing Tejada to play second base. He played well here, and had a .984 fielding percentage while at second. By now, the organization knows what they have with Tejada, and that is a good defender with a line drive hitter, but it may be nice to get a look at another player (such as Muno or Reynolds) and see if they can help the team.
If this is the season where the Mets are going all in to win, the decision of who to start at second base is important. The first month of the season may dictate the rest of the year, as the Mets play division opponents eight times in the first ten series. Murphy being out also gives the Mets a chance to see who will replace him after this season, or if the team decides to trade him at the deadline. Herrera seems to be the second baseman of the future, but until then, the Mets will give multiple players a chance.
Tejada at second, Reynolds at short, Muno on the bench as the backup IF Wilmer Flores is not ready to go. Reynolds and Tejada could flip flop though.
Wilmer at SS, Tejada at 2B, Reynolds spotting both of them either in game or with regular rest days. He can take over either if another injury pops up. Muno stays down unless another injury occurs.
Reynolds might get the start over Tejada because the Mets do not know what Reynolds can do at the Major League level and want to know what he is capable of. Especially after this spring training so far. Reynolds is hitting .423 and Tejada is hitting .281. Reynolds is also a better defensive replacement at third base if he is needed there. Tejada is more likely to be the backup unless lots of injuries.
Not sure the pitching injuries quality as devastating because they have plenty of depth to cover Wheeler and Edgin was a specialist. The middle infield injuries are bumps but not devastating and short term in nature. What really sucks is that Flores was looking good enough in the field and the bat looked liked it was ready to play in the bigs. Hope it doesn’t interfere with the momentum he was building.
Murphy being injured hurt the team offensively but if Flores also goes on the DL then things get more desperate. John Harper of the Daily News makes some very valid points especially with the Mets playing 26 of their first 31 games against the Eastern Division.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/harper-time-sandy-alderson-back-book-boasting-article-1.2158333
Is Syndergaard or Matz better than Gee? For that matter are they better than Colon ?
If Herera is the heir apparent then shouldn’t he be the starting second baseman if Flores and Murphy both end up on the DL ?
All three of these minor league players need to stay off the major league roster for 21 days in order to extend team control for another year. Even though these first 31 games could set the tone for a potential playoff spot, I have to believe that the extra year of control is more important. That leads me to conclude that if Murphy is on the disabled list then I would start Reynolds at second base. If Flores is also on the disabled list then I would start Tejada at shortstop and Muno would make the team as the back up utility infielder.
The one item I do agree on with Harper is getting Matusz from the Orioles because another arm in the bullpen could be helpful.
So James would you say Sandy is more concerned with off the field issues ($) or trying to put the best team on the field that can win? We haven’t even started the season and the Mets FO is already showing the fans which of the two is more important.
They must choose a fast baseball start—best roster is the 95% solution to all of this.
The “big money decisions” going out are Pitchers… if Muno and Reynolds become “big money decisions” they will have a very nice problem!! As for Herrerra, if he’s healthy, you might see him back as part of this solution.
A few things:
* From the post above: >> The ability to put the ball in play is a huge benefit, especially if Muno were to replace Murphy in the second spot of the lineup. << I thought these kinds of statements were behind us as the Human Collective moves into the future world. Muno may or may not be a good player, but for a guy with a .259 BA, "putting the ball in play" is simply not at all a huge benefit. It is highly questionable that it's a benefit at all. At best, maybe, maybe, it's a slight benefit.
* I read somewhere that if Tejada does not make the roster, then the Mets are not compelled to pay him, because it was an arbitration contract. That didn't seem correct to me. Is it possible? Do the Mets owe him $2+ million for 2015 no matter what?
* Just because Herrera is the heir apparent it does not mean he's the guy most able to help the team for two weeks in April. One has nothing to do with the other. The kid hit .220 for the Mets last season. He's 21. No need to disrupt his development. Tejada or Reynolds could play, short-term.
* Overall, the team has a very strange vibe about Tejada right now, like they are burying him again. Either they like him as a backup or not. It's weird and feels almost creepy, the way they are handling him.
On arbitration:
“Win or lose, the player is awarded a standard one-year MLB contract with no “minor league split” salary or incentive/performance bonuses. Also, the contract is not guaranteed, so if the player is released during Spring Training, the club would only owe the player 30 days or 45 days salary as termination pay, depending on when the player is released. (A player on an MLB 40-man roster receives 100% of what remains of his salary if he is released during the regular season).
NOTE: The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is very sensitive about salary arbitration, so if a player is victorious at an arbitration hearing and is awarded a contract by an arbitration panel and then is subsequently released by his club prior to or during Spring Training, the MLBPA will almost always file a grievance on behalf of the player, claiming the player was released for economic reasons only (which is not permitted), and asking that the released player receive 100% of his salary as termination pay. In that situation, a club would have to show (by submitting official Spring Training game stats) that the released player was out-performed in Spring Training games by another player (or players) competing for that roster spot.”
http://www.thecubreporter.com/book/export/html/3515
Edit: However, Tejada and the Mets settled on a contract before arbitration. Cot’s doesn’t say if he has a guaranteed contract. If he doesn’t — “A player on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) signed to a non-guaranteed contract who is released more than 15 days prior to Opening Day receives 30 days salary as termination pay (paid at the “minor league rate” if the player is signed to a “split contract”), and a player on an MLB Reserve List signed to a non-guaranteed contract who is released 15 or fewer days prior to Opening Day receives 45 days salary as termination pay (all players paid at the “Major League rate”). A player on an MLB Reserve List signed to a non-guaranteed contract who is released during the MLB regular season receives 100% of his salary as termination pay (paid at the “minor league rate” for players on Optional Assignment to the minors). An unsigned player on an MLB Reserve List released during the off-season receives no termination pay.”
http://www.thecubreporter.com/book/export/html/3506
Wow, Brian Joura, thanks for all those facts. It doesn’t strike me that the Mets can release Tejada to save that money.
This feels very similar to the conversations about Ike Davis last season.
For my money, given the existing situation, Tejada is the best backup solution for the NY Mets. They must have a guy on the MLB roster who can dependably play quality defense at SS, and Reynolds is not that guy (based on what I’ve read and the little I’ve seen).
Of course, I worry about TC’s infatuation with Ruben, and I wish that temptation was erased, but it seems clear that SA has made the decision.
I don’t buy Collins as “infatuated” with Tejada— he’s made the observation that Tejada was the only guy he had who could play the position.
They are on a reach with Flores… in large part based on his “marginal” demonstration playing the position late in the year—btw, I use “marginal” as a desciption of “semi-success”. Until Flores “survived” 40-50 games at short, it was pure speculation.
Collins has made many, many comments praising Ruben Tejada for years. Famously, he defended putting Ruben in the lineup because he was “hot” — even after a reporter noted that he was on a 3-29 streak (or something to that effect).
My take is that he preferred Ruben’s glove at a premier defensive position — and that, perhaps, he honestly (and unaccountably) saw potential in Ruben’s bat.
As for Flores, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. If he can stick at SS, he really upgrades the Mets lineup in a big way. I like the Peralta comp. Therefore it’s a worthy experiment, no matter how much it’s been grossly mismanaged in the past.
Rooting for Wilmer!
JP
I’m on board and rooting for Wilmer. I can live with a SS if he has thump and somewhat average defense. As far as using the word “comp”, those are two pretty big if’s- comparing him to Peralta- a guy with 1500+ career hits and an OPS of .760. It’s time to if that’s who Wilmer is. Let’s Go Mets!