The 2015-2016 offseason is off and running, as we have seen the Red Sox acquire Craig Kimbrel, while the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim acquired Andrelton Simmons from the Atlanta Braves. As for the New York Mets, multiple reports came out saying that the Mets were engaged in some talks during the GM Meetings, but mostly listened. Now this may set the team up for trades and acquisitions in the future, as the team hopes to win the World Series next year.
Over the past season, the Mets did a great job setting their players up for success, as they hid players from their weaknesses while showcasing strengths. For veterans, this philosophy makes sense. For rookies Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard, it will be interesting to see how this impacts their development moving forward.
Platooning is common throughout the major leagues, as players who struggle to hit a certain kind of pitching are benched, while another player gets a chance to play. We saw this with Conforto over the past season, as he only faced left-handed pitching 14 times. During these at-bats, he hit .214 with an OBP of .267. For a win-now team, it makes sense that the Mets would put in a veteran, such as Michael Cuddyer or move Yoenis Cespedes to left field and start Juan Lagares in order to have a more impactful lineup.
If the Mets do not intend on signing another outfielder, it seems that Conforto will be the everyday starter, and he would have to play against southpaws. Worrying may be an overreaction, because the small sample sizes in the minor leagues offer some comfort. 2014’s campaign in Single-A Brooklyn showcased Conforto’s skill, as he hit .324 with two homers and drove in five runs over 37 at-bats. This past season, he hit .333 in 51 at-bats while playing in Double-A Binghamton. These statistics show some promise, and hopefully Conforto begins to hit lefties in the majors as he gets more opportunities to do so.
In last week’s article, I touched on the fact that Syndergaard matured by leaps and bounds over the course of the season. Although not many areas of his game need to improve, his road performances worried management quite a bit.
Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey pitched well in the playoffs, but leading up to the playoffs, it could have been argued that Syndergaard should have started Game 2 in the World Series. The Mets had to win one game on the road in order to neutralize home field advantage, and they almost accomplished it in Game 1. Harvey pitched well in that game, but the bullpen did not hold the lead. In Game 2, the Royals seemed to know what deGrom was going to throw, and hit him hard. We do not know what would have happened if Syndergaard started one of those games, but shielding him from road games in the playoffs seems to be an intriguing choice. Next season, Syndergaard is going to be starting road games, and he should be fine to handle the challenge.
The Mets are not a rebuilding team, and they made Herm Edwards proud by “playing to win the game” this season, but it will be interesting to see how the win-now mentality will impact the young players moving forward.
At this point, what’s done is done. The rotation was set up to ensure that Syndergaard would get a home start because of his absurd splits in the regular season.
In regards to Conforto, his first 194 plate appearances in his hopefully long and prosperous career will not have a big effect on him. Plus, after game one of the NLDS Cuddyer didn’t start once because of his poor play. I didn’t have a problem with sheltering Conforto in his 56-game rookie season, and I doubt he’ll be deeply effected by it in 2016 and beyond.
No need for win now. See how it shakes out & make your moves with teams having bad seasons.
Maybe it’s me, but I just don’t get the point of this post. Thor started game 3 because Harvey and degroom were ahead of him on the depth chart … As the pitching lined up, he would not have pitched before game 3 under any circumstances … Against lefties like mets like mets as and Lester, I would have sat him too
Perhaps I’m optimistic, but Conforto and Thor are really low on my last of 2016 concerns