Most teams have clubhouses with more than one player who the fans find polarizing. We all have different things that either thrill or annoy us, so this isn’t very surprising. Often times it comes down to players who showboat. A lot of fans love the enthusiasm of these players and others want their guys to act a bit more professionally.
On the 2016 Mets, with Matt Harvey going down with a season-ending injury early and Yoenis Cespedes not rocking the boat in any way, it’s hard to say who the most polarizing players on the club were. This is a testament to the players brought in by Sandy Alderson and to the managerial style of Terry Collins. If Collins had been a “get in your face” manager, no doubt the vibe would be different.
Still, there seems to be three players who are vying for this dubious title, even if they aren’t doing it in the traditional way. Let’s take a look at this trio.
Travis d’Arnaud came here with a reputation of being a future two-way star. But the narrative surrounding him has developed into how he hasn’t been able to stay healthy, his offense has been inconsistent at best and his defense is sub-par because he’s not good at throwing out opposing baserunners. A good chunk of the fan base wants to move him and see if Kevin Plawecki can develop into a front line catcher. The rest feel that d’Arnaud cut down on his passed balls and wild pitches allowed and is a strong pitch framer, so the concerns about his defense are overblown. And they hope that a healthy season behind the plate will lead to a better offensive season. They believe that trading d’Arnaud now would be the ultimate case of selling low on a player.
Lucas Duda came up around the same time that Ike Davis did. Davis was the first-round pick so he got to play the preferred position of first base, while Duda was forced to move to the outfield, where he was not good. Duda got the reputation of being a bad defensive player, one that followed him to first base. And while Duda had excellent HR power, he seemed to be an all-or-nothing offensive player. To many, Duda was a bad defensive player with limited offensive skills. When James Loney came up and had a hot streak, many were ready to dump Duda and install Loney full time. Others see Duda as a solid defender at his natural position of first base and are happy to live with his offensive profile of walks and power.
Curtis Granderson got off to a horrible start with the Mets in the first season of a four-year contract. And 2016, his third season of the club, cannot be described in any other way except streaky. For those who still use batting average as their primary way to determine the offensive worth of a player, Granderson and his .237 AVG last year looks like a disappointment. And even those who don’t hold batting average supreme feel that he is overpaid and that money could be better spent elsewhere. Others see a guy who was eighth in the majors among 21 qualified right fielders in fWAR, despite needing to play a different position defensively.
While these three are polarizing, it has nothing to do with not hustling or being obnoxious or only being out for themselves. When Plawecki came up, he raved about how d’Arnaud was there to offer help and encouragement. Duda is the ultimate strong, silent type. And Granderson is universally praised as being an excellent teammate. None of them have ever been involved in a public spat with another player or been accused of dogging it on the field.
Instead, it’s over the proper evaluation of what they bring to the table. Or if they take away more things than they bring. Maybe this is insignificant in the overall scheme of things, but my preference is to have discussions and arguments like this. I’d much rather defend the contributions of a Granderson than have to defend the outside-the-lines actions of a Dave Kingman.
For what it’s worth, here are my takes on the three players:
d’Arnaud – Generally in his camp but have no issues with those who aren’t. Acquiring Jonathan Lucroy at the deadline last year would have made a ton of sense. Am inclined to give him 2017 to prove he can be the guy we all thought we were getting. Lucroy himself has three seasons in his career where he played 103 or fewer games. Carlton Fisk played in 52 and 79 games in back-to-back years early in his career and 91 a few years later.
Duda – Firmly in his camp and get annoyed with those who view him as a defensive liability. Just as one at-bat in the NLCS didn’t define Carlos Beltran as a hitter, one throw in the World Series doesn’t define Duda as a defensive player. There’s absolutely no question that right now Duda is a better defensive player than Loney. However, there is plenty of room for debate on whether the Mets need the offensive skills Duda provides or if a guy whose OBP was much closer to .400 than .300 – someone potentially like Dominic Smith – would be a better fit.
Granderson – Firmly in his camp. Wish he wasn’t prone to extended slumps. Wish that his detractors would recognize that along with the extended slumps come extended hot streaks. Had a three-week period in May with a .508 OPS but in the final 110 games of the season he had an .843 OPS. Wish he hit better with RISP in 2016. Wish more people would recognize that his performance last year in that category was an extreme outlier in his career, nearly 300 OPS points below his lifetime mark and 473 points below what he hit in 2015, and understand there’s no reason to expect it to happen again.
Almost all of these arguments “for/against” the players being discussed have to do with a question of who else is going to be on the team.
Duda??? He’s a Good offensive player for all his can do/cannot do elements. I wouldn’t center my argument on whether we disagree about his defense—I think it’s a shade Ugly, and you think it’s a little beautiful. The bigger questions on Duda–His Back, and the Plans for the “similar Lefty Bats”—Grandy, Bruce.
d’Arnaud…he’s not been Healthy or Hopeful…. and he’s too cheap to trade even cheaper. I’m not sure he’s Polarizing—it seems that everyone is universally disappointed. They went to 163 with the present rotation of Catchers—and it cannot be worse….make it work, or chase it in season.
The Polarizing players unmentioned are Walker and Wright— Spinal Patients 2 and 3 (after Duda). Again, some of this has to do with “who else is here”—I don’t want 3 30 year old guys with Post Surgical Back Problems. I am not enthused by a Sandwhich pick enough to risk Walker taking 17.5 Million of Cespedes and Bullpen Money….and I do not want to commit 3-4 years and 60 million plus to a 31 year old 2nd baseman with a medical problem.
As for Wright— Steroid Abuse…Body Abuse…. whatever— I would not plan on him—if he surprises, it’s a treat. I would not avoid signing someone with any reference to hopes and expectations for Wright.
Platoon Granderson (Lagares) and Duda (Flores) and they’ll be fine. Give d’Arnaud another shot but hope Rivera can fill in again if he can’t. If Cespedes returns try to trade Bruce for McCann.
JerryK- agree with you about platoon options. Neither Granderson or Duda is good against lefties. However I keep hearing people mention Brian McCann and I think that would be a terrible trade target. A) he has a big remaining contract and B) he’s left-handed and this team is already lopsided.
I think you could include Jose Reyes on the group of polarizing players. Personally I think he proved to be a good mid-season pickup holding down the fort at third, and providing hustle and spark as lead off man. The polarizing part of course is his off field trouble with the domestic abuse situation. I think most fans (myself included) accept his apology and the fact that he served his suspension, but I imagine there is an element that think he should have been punished even more.
Reyes certainly had the potential to be this way. I think two things helped him, though. First was his prior history with the club. And the other, as you mentioned, was the apology. And a third one, too, in that nothing new developed.
Terry Collins the most polarizing of all.
I would add Wilmer Flores too.
I think you still have to consider the ownership. Do the Wilpons make choices that will allow the team to sustain or improve on its recent successes or do they constrain it?
Obvious choices the way I see it.
Duda is way better than Loney.
d’Arnaud with Plawecki competition in 2017. Rene Rivera can come back on a minor league deal if he wants. Plawecki has to take priority vs Rivera.
This other one is open for debate:
Do you keep Granderson or Bruce?. To me one has to go in order to open up a spot for Conforto. A choice between them? Granderson. Why? because he excels when it counts, is a money player and can handle NY. Can’t say that about Bruce.
I just don’t get the KP love. I see Rivera and it’s obvious what he brings to the table. He seems like a much, much better defensive catcher than Plawecki. KP could make up for that offensively but he hasn’t exactly raked in either the majors or Triple-A. He had an .832 OPS in Las Vegas this year, just 15 points higher than the team average. Plawecki should go back to Vegas and dominate there before he gets MLB consideration.
I think the C spot is a genuine issue. Over at MMO, there was an article indicating the Mets are still all in on TdA, making the dream of his bat outweigh everything we see on the ground. Right now Rivera is the front line C. Rene Rivera, Kevin Plawecki, Travis d’Arnaud…not sure that gets things done in October.
As for TdA and pitch framing, he is not even in the top 10 in baseball, and only a couple spots ahead of Rene Rivera.
I wouldn’t call it Love, but I thought that Plawecki would hit when I first saw him. The approach was fairly simple, and he seemed to use a lot of the field.
If I had to bet, I’d be more comfortable with my money on him than Travis over the next 3-5 years. d’Arnaud seems to have “not physical” issues as a hitter… Big issues. Hard Head is a tough diagnosis, but it seems to fit. He is a very talented and screwed up offensive player, and I don;t know if he’s willing to fix it. The way he Catches, he needs to Hit!!!!
Mr. Gomes, have to disagree with you on this and ride with Brian. I’m a big “talent” guy, in which I’d take a chance on a young talented player that could be special over a player that is consistently meh. Plawecki was never regarded as an offensive catcher and I have been convinced he is the next Charlie O’Brien. His bat drags and he has no power. While his defense is better than d’Arnaud, it isn’t too much better.
But Rivera has proven to be a real field general that guides a pitcher and can control a game. While I have seen a few brain farts in defense, like not sliding to the right but reaching and thus allowing pitches to get by him, his strong arm, great leadership and clutch bat is a needed component of next year’s team.
Neither Plawecki or d’Arnaud have shown that they can read situations and set a hitter up. I can’t remember too many winning teams with offensive catchers, but I know that I can’t remember any that had poor defensive catchers.
How about a Cespedes Re-sign?…Is that Polarizing???
I will start the Bidding:
5 years 30/30/30/25/25: 140 Million Guaranteed. He can Opt out after 3— he’s 33/34 with a possible big ticket ahead. Mets can opt out after 4—10 million buyout
Here are the Guarantees
3 Years- 90
4 Years— 115… if mets opt out, 125
5 Years—-140
This is an expansion on every concept in the existing agreement–it builds on it—it rewards performance in everyt way—He can opt out at 3 and re-sign another huge deal.
If he stays for all 5, it’s 28 Million/year
I expect him to sign something structured as I presented, with similar dollars as I presented.
He will be back!
The polarizing player is David Wright. Going into 2017, it will be 5 years since Wright produced at an all star level. In his last full season in 2014, he had 8 HR and 63 RBI with a .269 batting average. With all of his injuries, he should call it a career. The odds are in 2017, he will be a sub par player. I love David Wright, but it is time to hang up the cleats.
IMHO, the most polarizing Mets have to be Harvey, Reyes and Familia.
Reyes and Familia get lumped together because of domestic abuse allegations, regardless of facts, details and other “trivialities.”
Harvey is polarizing because he carries such a massive ego and is represented by such a despised agent despite looking great in blue and orange when he’s not hurt.