[ad_1]
Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |
As soon as Brodie Van Wagenen started working as General Manager of the Mets last fall, he set about building the depth of alignment and eliminating as many "ifs" as possible. .
Now that many of these "ifs" have been answered in one way or another, difficult decisions are waiting. This is a consequence of some of the layoffs that Van Wagenen and his associates deemed necessary in December and January and that they are happy to deal with. After all, difficult alignment decisions mean that at least a portion of this deep reinforcement project has paid off.
Consider Keon Broxton, whose status is now tenuous. The Mets traded for Broxton as a hedge against several yews:
And what would happen if Jeff McNeil could not handle the outside field (it turns out that he can)? And what would happen if Juan Lagares, with his history of injury was not healthy (it turns out he is)?
With these answers, Broxton became consumable. The Mets are comfortable with this reality because they have acquired a low cost of the future, without it taking a significant part in their projects.
They chose it rather than a free agent like ONE J. Pollock because they felt that Pollock's injury history had created too much risk – and seemed validated after Pollock's recent elbow operation.
As the season approaches, Amed Rosario was another if. And if he was struggling on defense or was he regressing to return to the offensive player that he was in the first half of 2018? That's why the Mets have signed Adeiny Hechavarria as depth.
Because Rosario has not fully met his expectations, especially in defense, Hechavarria remains here for the moment, but it's easy to imagine that this will change soon.
These examples illustrate why list decisions never occur in isolation and almost always involve considerations for multiple players. They also remind us that the idea of keeping the "best 25" players, as Van Wagenen puts it, is never easy.
Choosing the best of 25 spring training is one thing. Players have six weeks of exhibition games to prove that they deserve to break camp with the team. During the regular season, it becomes much more complicated. Teams need to weigh factors such as sample size, number of devices, compromises between offensive and defense, which has options and which organization would lose by cutting.
Sometimes the time spent in the minors may also be better for the long term future of a player. J.D. Davis could be an example of this. The Mets had the intention of giving him representatives at various positions of spring training, including the outfield. But then Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie were injured, forcing Davis to play third base.
While many fans want the release of Frazier, the Mets weigh for its defensive value and its possible opportunity to get representatives of Triple-A Davis to other positions. Maybe Davis' bat will force the Mets to keep him and try him around the diamond in the big leagues. But if he spends time in Triple-A while he's technically one of the top 25 in the Mets, it will be for something.
In addition, the determination of the top 25 players can not be considered without taking into account the guaranteed contracts. The Mets would be better without any connection to Yoenis Cespedes, Jason Vargas or Frazier – all the players that Van Wagenen, as an agent, convinced the team to sign. Now he has to live with these consequences.
The opening day is a moment in time, but every day after, a list is a fluid work in progress. A team addresses some of their yew trees and finds themselves facing new ones. And a phrase like "best 25" does not account for the complexity of these decisions.
RELATED: Mets Top Prospect Watch: Szapucki Impresses, Kay Dominates >> Read More
RELATED: The impact of Sunday's rain on the Mets rotation plan >> Read more
RELATED: Carlos Gomez opted for the unsubscription on June 1st and here's why Mets could let him go >> Learn more
[ad_2]
Source link