Gold Gloves, perhaps?

The Mets have managed to sink to the bottom of the National League East. There are still positive aspects to the season and certainly skills to build on for 2024. While the hitting is always under the microscope, having a defender give away runs in the field definitely has to be prevented.  It is a routinely overlooked aspect of a player’s quality, mostly due to a mistrust of defensive stats.  Even with Statcast providing tight measurements, some fans still struggle to budge from cliched commentary.

As a team, the Mets have summed up to be notably below average. Not as bad as the worst teams in the league, like Oakland or the Cardinals, but nothing to write home about, and poor defense coupled with poor hitting means a losing season.

The Mets opened the season with corner outfielders that were average or slightly above in Mark Canha and Starling Marte. Both were also decent hitters in recent years. What was overlooked was both were 34 years old. Additionally, Marte was coming off an injury. What happened next couldn’t have been more predictable.  Both struggled at the plate. Marte struggled to stay on the field, and both saw their defense drop considerably. Canha still managed to be average as a fielder, but Marte, who when healthy was a plus defender, lots range dramatically, and was a bad fielder, posting one of the Mets lower runs saved (-5) in two thirds of the season so far.  Defense in the right field corner can result in extra bases in a hurry.

Right field backups were not stellar.  Jeff McNeil has shown he’s perfectly workable in the outfield, and at the same time DJ Stewart has demonstrated he is not. In one tenth of the innings, Stewart is on pace to do significantly more damage in the field than Marte, and when most fans assess playing Stewart, they will say “142 OPS+!”, ignoring he gives all those runs – every one – back in the field.

Canha was fine in left field, as were his replacements. Tommy Pham was the only left fielder with any struggles, and his were building when he left the team.

This is going to be a major couple of holes in the offense and the defense next season, and if the Mets overlook just how poorly Stewart played defense, they will wonder why they are treading water again.

The Mets have decided, appropriately, Brandon Nimmo is their center fielder. Nimmo was slightly above average in 2022, and has been almost exactly average through 900 innings in 2023. It is normal for defensive players to drop a run or three per season after the age of 24, because they get older, and defense still requires quickness. Nimmo won’t win the Gold Glove, but he isn’t doing any damage to the team.

On the infield, the biggest surprise has been Francisco Alvarez. In watching games, he does an excellent job managing pitchers and the pitch clock, and really being a field leader behind the plate. Much of that seems intangible, so in terms of preventing runs through controlling the running game and pitch framing, Alvarez has been average, which at 21 years old is tremendous.  The Mets can expect him to continue to improve, and be an asset behind the plate, and as a hitter.

Pete Alonso is seemingly entrenched at first base, and has first free agency eligibility after 2025. He will be 30, and whether the Mets sign him longer term is a mystery. Many fans think of him as the face of the franchise, and a leader, and his kind of power does not grow on trees. But home runs are not in and of themselves sufficient. He has shown himself to be vulnerable to sliders. So despite lots of home runs, his bWAR is lower than one would hope. One of the best signs regarding Alonso is his dedication. Alonso has been somewhat below average, and as players age, they typically decline defensively, but Alonso stated he was working on his footwork and scoops and thus far in 2023 it shows up. Alonso is currently second in the SDI rankings, and these rankings have a significant influence on Gold Glove voting. It is not out of the question Alonso will win the award, highlighting his efforts.

The Mets have a second baseman they choose to play elsewhere about a third of the time. McNeil could be the everyday second baseman, and perform at an average rate, and likely hit significantly better than most second baseman, enhancing his value to the team. Unfortunately, the combination of bad to no corner outfielders, and a General Manager who cannot recognize that, has meant assorted other players fill in at second. McNeil doesn’t hit enough to be a high value player as a corner outfielder, so this is just another failing of the Mets front office.

Many Met fans were excited at the prospect of Brett Baty as the everyday third baseman. He hit a ton in the minors, and so if he manages to develop, the Mets could have an everyday third baseman for 5-6 years to come. Baty didn’t hit, and worse, he didn’t field. Aside from an embarrassing missed popup, Baty has been the worst everyday Met fielder, nearly -10 runs on defense in half of a season. Glancing at his minor league career, Baty has 42 errors in a little over a full season of innings (~1450). Baty will have to get better fast, or he’ll need to be a corner outfielder or first baseman. It is hard to see where he fits on the team if he cannot field at third or cannot hit enough to play left field.

Lastly, and gloriously, we reached shortstop and Francisco Lindor. Lindor has hit well (121 OPS+) and produced well – 6^th in the NL in bWAR. Lindor has been excellent with the glove. He won a couple of Gold Gloves with Cleveland and has really been impressive in 2023. He’s preventing runs as well as he did at age 25, and will likely be a finalist for the NL Gold Glove at shortstop. All in all, he is delivering what he is paid to do, and this may be his second best season ever.

In summary:

C: =

1B: +

2B: =

3B: – –

SS: + +

LF: =

CF: =

RF: – –

All in, the Mets overall defense has been below average, with two gaping holes. Let’s see how they fill them.