Met shortstop Amed Rosario, although usually consigned to the 8th spot in the batting order, has been putting in a pretty good year with the bat. For the season he has assembled a slash line of .270/.312/.439, not bad for a bottom of the order hitter. But if we look more recently, we find even better numbers for the shortstop. Since the All-Star break Rosario has slashed .333/.390/.593. This shows he is hitting the ball with more authority (see that SLG figure) and that he is more selective at the plate (see the big jump in OBP). It should be noted that the Mets are playing their best ball of the season since the All-Star break with a 10-5 record over that span.
For all practical purposes, Rosario is a near five-tool player. He has terrific speed, a rocket arm, hits for average and has gap power. But then the fifth tool, fielding at his position of shortstop, is a different story.
Alas, as good as Rosario has been with the bat, his work with the glove has been deficient. He has 13 errors so far this season, and less generous scoring could have lead to more errors being called on him. His UZR figure, courtesy of FanGraphs, is in negative territory at -6.0. Just as a contrast, Miguel Rojas, shortstop of the cellar -dwelling Marlins, has only seven errors and a positive UZR of 6.4.
As many people have suggested, one solution might be a position switch for Rosario from SS to CF. Going by the eye test Rosario has trouble with grounders, and that would not be a problem in center. The Mets have been going with Michael Conforto in center of late, although he is a natural right fielder. A move to center for Rosario could potentially have the effect of killing two birds with one stone, i.e. improving defense at both short and center.
There are plenty of players who have started off as shortstops before being successfully converted to center fielders. Close to home, Juan Lagares was mostly a shortstop for his first four years in the Mets organization before being turned into a center fielder, and eventually a Gold Glove CF at that.
Another example would be Mickey Mantle, the 18 year old was a shortstop for minor league Joplin in 1950. Tiring of his wild throws to first, the Yankee organization moved him to the outfield and he was on his way to Cooperstown as a CF.
How exactly would a plan to turn Rosario into a center fielder work? One scenario would be to sign him up for the Dominican Winter League as a center fielder this coming off-season, then play him in center during ST of 2020.
As to who would play short if Rosario moves to the outfield, there are at least three in-house options. Mets utility infielder Adeiny Hechavarria is a natural shortstop, and he has looked good when played there this year. He’s probably even hit a little better than was expected. Mets prospect Andres Gimenez is a very smooth fielder at short, and his bat may yet come around. Utility infielder Luis Guillorme is good defensively all around the infield, including short. He usually has been overmatched by MLB pitching so far.
A 2020 Mets outfield of Brandon Nimmo in left, Rosario in center and Conforto in right would have the potential of being a dynamic grouping both offensively and defensively. That could allow Jeff McNeil to play his natural position of 2b next year, and perhaps Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie could spit time at 3b in 2020.
Trea Turner moved to CF successfully and then back again but he s a unique talent miles ahead of Rosario. Otoh since the break Amed has been much steadier on defense to go along with his strong offensive display.
The Mets have a guy named Cespedes who will be starting in left field next season. Also, come on, you can’t compare Rosario to Mantle, no way.
Thats as bad an idea as moving Dom Smith to left field, possibly worse. You need someone that can read well, understand the game in a hurry, and have a general’s attitude and skills. I dont think you could classify his arm as “rocket” and thats from SS. He would be insufficient to even make it at 3B. Center field is an actually really important position, placing one of the worst defensive people in the league in *another* defense-must-skills-set position is lunacy at best, although certainly in line with the Mets putting players in positions they have not or cannot play.
The Mets need a center fielder, a real one, with proven capacity to catch and throw and hit. You can’t hide someone in CF.
argh.
My first thought about Amed is, can he hit enough to play center and how quickly is his learning curve to master a. new position?
Second thought is even at age 23 Amed has already surpassed Juan’s offense so the future is his.
Third: it was quite interesting to read the 2015 and 2017 posts. The talent is there and we’ve been waiting literally for years for the final product. A little patience would go a long way (along with strike zone recognition).
I’m open to the idea of Rosario in CF. The time is now to test it out while the games don’t mean anything. If he fails then there’s no harm in playing him at SS again. If he succeeds then the team has gained more flexibility in roster construction which goes a long way.
ChrisB,
I agree w you: the time us now.
Except BVW & Jeff Coupon think our soft schedule wins mean “go for it, now!” which may keep us from getting McNeil back to his natural position.
I basically agree. The Mets are certainly guity of undervaluing defense, as well as playing guys out of position. Rosario to CF is quite different than Smith to LF, and there are numerous exampts of successful transitions of high caliber athletes from SS to CF. That said, trying a guy in a new position at the MLB level is a joke, unless it is in garbage time games. Dom Smith was done a disservice, as was Duda and others, sticking them out there in the show. Reps are key, and it would minimally require Sept, winter ball, as ST reps.
Regarding his bat, he has great bat speed but poor pitch recongnition. It is great that he has shown improvement, and it is important that he can sustain it over the balance of the season, get his walks, drip his rate of swings on non-strikes, and drive his OBP to .330ish.
So long as the Mets have a chance, or make a run, he needs to stay at SS, despite his limitations there.
Worked out because of Alonzo but last year handed job to Adrian Gonzalez when he should have gotten his shot to sink or swim.
Editor’s Note – Please keep the comments about the article. If you want to talk about something else – put it in the Open Thread.
Yeah, the Mets sit in perpetual purgatory exactly because they cannot see reality, despite reality visiting their doorstep every season. It keep the team imbalanced in players on the field and between the big club and pipeline. They believe they are a team just one little thing, one little turn of events, and poof, they are 90+ wins. We hear the same drivel year after year, and by September we see the same results year after year; sadly “ya gotta believe” is one of the most dangerous diseases this team has. Instead of getting the system on the same page, it strives for imbalance, believing in the delusional, and then making up stories about how close they really are, not what the record says.
This team is not good. Its far from good. Its terribly constructed. It lacks solid players at key positions. It cannot ever sync up offense and defense. It never has enough depth to roll into the bigs to spell injuries.
With Smith and Rosario, we would have two infielder experiments in the outfield. That is not a winning formula.
We need a true center fielder and a shortstop that plays better defense.
I’ve cringed past ten years with player development. Guys tear up minors and not making it in bigs. Why? Rosario, Conforto, justin Turner colin McHugh, heath bell. Probably missing few but guys seem to break out after leaving Mets. Even Vargas did.