Time and time again, the Mets have shown a lack of faith in Juan Lagares’ ability to be starting in centerfield every day. In 2013, Lagares came up and was a solution, as the team shuffled through Rick Ankiel, Matt den Dekker, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Jordany Valdespin in centerfield. From that day, we saw what Lagares had to offer. An outstanding glove and presence in centerfield, and a decent bat that can hold its own throughout a season. However, the Mets were not sold on him.
During the offseason, the Mets signed Chris Young to a one-year deal, and the move was described as an insurance policy, as Young could play centerfield and other outfield positions. This move showed that the Mets organization wanted to have a backup plan just in case Lagares in the starting lineup did not pan out.
Although the backup was in place, there was no need, as Young struggled throughout his tenure as a Met, and Lagares led the team in WAR with 5.5. He also added a Gold Glove, and really flashed potential. However, in 2015, we saw a beat up Lagares patrol centerfield, and was getting beat on deep fly balls, something that rarely happened in previous years. We also saw that his plate discipline has prevented him from taking the next step offensively, as walks do not come often. The power is also rare, and it was mentioned throughout the season that Lagares did not seem healthy, which was a main factor (along with needing a power bat) in the Mets acquiring Yoenis Cespedes at the deadline. The acquisition was a great one, as it took the Mets to the World Series.
Heading into this season, it seems that the Mets are thinking of platooning Lagares with Alejandro de Aza in centerfield to get plenty of offense from the position. However, de Aza is not a great defender, and it seems that Lagares could have provided enough offense to hold the position. This brings up the question of why Lagares is not being guaranteed the starting job for the 2016 season.
Here are some reasons why Lagares may not be given the starting job when the season starts:
Motivation: It seems in sports that a good backup could put pressure on the starter, as the starter may realize that their job is not guaranteed. It is possible that the Young acquisition for the 2014 season acted as motivation, and that is what drove Lagares to having a great season. The signing of de Aza may have been a motivational factor, and it may push Lagares to perform at a higher level.
Platoon: The main reason why the Mets seemed to sign de Aza was to provide offense. Against left-handed pitchers, Lagares hit .273 with 3 homers and 15 RBIs. He put up these numbers in 121 at bats. While a small sample size, it seems that Lagares will start when the opposing starting pitcher is left-handed, while de Aza will face right-handed hitters. The latest acquisition hit .278 against righties and .159 against southpaws. He did hit seven homers against righties, so there will be some power coming from de Aza.
Small Winning Window: The Mets realize that their time to win is dictated by the amount of years they can keep the starting rotation in tact. Once the pitchers hit free agency, who knows what the team will look like. Ideally, the Mets would have signed a big name player this year, who would have provided offense, but the team went for depth, which is a wise strategy. If Lagares does not produce, then the team will suffer, and it could be damaging for the franchise to throw away a year waiting to see if Lagares produces or not.
If healthy, Lagares has a phenomenal ability to change a game with his defense. His offense may not be problematic either, as he could produce pesky plate appearances. In the playoffs, Lagares had a successful small sample size, and showed he can contribute at the big league level. The Mets are going to need offense, especially since Cespedes is not on the team (as of now), and de Aza may provide a little bit of it, but is it going to be much more than Lagares? We will have to see.
The centerfield position looks to be a platoon, but the Mets should give Lagares one more shot at earning the full time starting job if he is healthy. If he is not healthy, then why does the team keep sending him out? Why not let him rest and be ready later in the season? Hopefully Lagares excels in a platoon role, and can become the starter moving forward.
Small style point: I know we love our lowercase “d” crew (d’Arnaud, deGrom), but our new centerfield platoon option is a cap “D” guy: Alejandro De Aza.
FWIW, I was greatly disappointed to make this discovery– having three lowercase “d” guys would have been awesome!
I don’t want to say this post was disingenuous, but how can you possibly ask this question — and provide various statistics along the way — and not include these salient numbers:
In 2015 against RHP — that’s 114 games, 333 PA’s — he posted a slash line of 253/.271/.328.
His OPS did not break .600.
When the Mets offense was the worst in baseball, Juan Lagares was a huge part of that failure.
What makes baseball sense is to give him a chance, over time, here and there, to earn back some of that playing time he squandered so spectacularly last season. He was given the job, and a nice contract, and he lost it through his play on the field and at the plate.
We’d all love for Juan Lagares to perform up to his capabilities. This is entirely on his shoulders.
James, a few points of disagreement:
1. While Lagares was hurt last year early, he was out of shape all season. Many a nights while watching the games we noted how he looked pudgy and slower. Further, he didn’t even try to steal many bases, when he had 7 in September alone in 2014.
2. Lagares needs to find the next step in his game. If he can never recognize and lay off the slider away, he will be a one hit wonder that got a long term deal and stopped working. Those guys fade fast.
3. While we love our young guys, we expect them to show heart and desire. It’s why as much as I love Flores, I will be the first to say he has much work to do in his swing. Same holds true for Lagares. Lagares has been in the league a few years and has to catch up to the speed of the game. If his strong side of the platoon is only .278, he better be awesome defensively. Lagares needs to get a little stronger so he can whip the bat through the zone quicker and make his occasional contact more dangerous.
If Lagares never improves, it would be a shame because most of the tools are there. Kevin Long said it early when he first compared him to Cano and we all see the raw talent.
James, if he’s not healthy at the start of the season after resting and rehabing all off-season it’s obvious he needs an operation, not more rest.
His ability to extend at bats shows promise but he needs to be more disciplined in order to be more productive. Justin Turner profiled similarly and did it.
He is healthy. Played winter ball and did well. He might have a big year and be a big part of the club.
For what it is worth, I suspect Turner of using. Not the same guy.
He credits Byrd with advice. To me, his advice was likely, “I know a guy …”
Lagares AB’s are consistently lacking…he’s easy prey for MLB Pitchers. Fat…Skinny—that doesn’t affect the bat in your hands.
He has almost 1500 mostly identical, lousy at bats.
I am sure that he will have the first shot at over half the play…he needs to show a difference and growth very quickly.
I think they signed De Aza at $5+ million to hit RHP, and that’s got to be about 75% of the starts.
I dont think they spent that money to sit him on the bench.
I would love to see Juan step up and regain playing time, but no way does he have first shot at over half the PT.
Jim— I don’t believe that—mostly because I don’t want to believe it!!!!!
Using what, a vegan diet? He gets tested like everyone else. Your just kidding right?
You have a lot more faith in testing than I do.
Don’t you think some of these guys are still looking to get a chemical edge?
As I posted in the colon comments, it is easy to use PEDs yet still pass doping controls. I encourage you to read the article I linked to showing how one athlete intentionally tested the system. I would also note, the most sophisticated testing program occurs in cycling and athletics, with penalties far higher than in baseball, and they dope all the time. Lance Armsting was far and away the most tested athlete in elite sport, having been tested >500 times during times in and away from competition and tested negative constantly despite the fact he was doping daily.
While we are all wondering how Lagares can bounce back, the signing most of us are hoping for will make Lagares trade fodder.
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/new-york-mets-yoenis-cespedes-five-year-contract-011916
You seem to be more up on this issue than me. That said however, Turner did open up his stance so there’s that. I know it’s hard not to be cynical after all that’s gone on but if we now live in a world of such uncertainty it’s probably best to take things at face value until proven otherwise rather than diminish innocent overacheivers., One caveat, I always liked the Ginger when he was with us.
Look: This is not a court of law, so any suspicion I have of a player is only that. But the historic context tells us that some players use. It’s foolish to think it’s gone away; there are tens of millions of dollars on the line.
Again: Tens of millions of dollars.
A career, a life.
All these players have trainers who are making them cocktails. Everybody is looking for an edge, for maximum performance. Some will cross the line, other will go right up to it. Take a close look at Derek Jeter and his relationship to the trainer who broke the most recent scandal. Look at his bounce back season when they first hooked up.
With Turner, take a look at his stats. Go take 3 minutes. In his time with the Mets, he never slugged over .390. He never hit more than 2 HRS. The past two years, his SLG jumped more than .100 points — an astonishing leap — at age 29. He hit 16 HRs last year. His HR totals went from 2, 2, 7, 16.
He looks bigger, more aggressive, more confident.
Does that mean he absolutely is on PEDs? No, it doesn’t. He might be clean. He might have transformed himself on the legit. But he has been transformed. Guy was inches away from being the NLDS MVP and carrying the Dodgers to the WS.
When Sosa hit 66, there were dozens of articles pointing to his new plate discipline, how he was laying off the slider in the dirt, interviews with his batting instructor, etc. And all of that was true, but they all completely missed why it happened.
Why did Marlon Byrd amazingly salvage his career after his time in Mexico? How much has Bartolo earned after his surgery which infused steroids into his shoulder? $30 million? $40 million?
This is how the world is now. If you don’t wonder about certain guys, I don’t think you’re paying attention.