Did the Mets get the right players to fix their run prevention problem?
Also, the Mets held their first full squad workout on Monday in Port St. Lucie
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets held their first full squad workout in Port St. Lucie on Monday with Mets owner and CEO Steve Cohen in attendance
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza essentially said the plan is to shift Brandon Nimmo to left field, have Harrison Bader in center, and Starling Marte in right field
The Mets signed Luke Voit to a minor league deal, and invited him to big league camp
Did the Mets get the right players to address their athleticism and defensive problems? ✍️
When the Mets brought both Harrison Bader and Tyrone Taylor into the outfield mix for 2024, it became obvious the club was going to take a defense-first approach up-the-middle this season.
It was for good reason. As mature of a centerfielder as Brandon Nimmo has become, the club’s outfield defense was still a weak point in 2023. The Mets outfield ranked 25th in MLB in defensive runs saved (DRS) in 2023 with -16 and their centerfielders ranked 27th with -12 DRS.
That isn’t (and ultimately wasn’t) a winning formula for the Mets and their defense last year.
So, enter Bader and Taylor.
On Monday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed the obvious and what some were fearing, and that is the club has decided to shift Nimmo to left field and that Bader will serve as the primary center fielder.
The Mets sort of danced around that decision when they first brought Bader into the fold but it was clear nonetheless the Mets were looking to cut down on the number of baserunners and advances on balls hit up the middle with Taylor and Bader.
If history is any indication, this will help improve upon that steep deficiency from last year.
In addition to the hope of a statistical improvement, there’s a generally under discussed advantage to making this change, and that is the potential for keeping Nimmo’s legs stronger and healthier all while keeping his stamina at peak so he can be a consistent asset at the top of the Mets lineup from end-to-end during the season.
Center field can take a quiet toll on a player. There’s a lot of ground to cover left-to-right and back-to-front, and when the position is an uphill climb for a player to begin with, and baserunners are taking advantage of a negative intangible from a player (in this case, Nimmo’s arm), that can weigh on a team as well.
Nimmo is and probably always has been more valuable as a left fielder, even after he had a strong 2022 season defensively in center. His arm and his legs can be better protected or, perhaps better put, less exposed in a corner outfield spot thereby making him a better defensive player by default. And between Taylor and Bader, the ground he has to cover - especially on balls hit over his head - is greatly reduced by the range they can naturally cover better up the middle.
In other words, the Mets are now in a better position to get more outs, cut down on advancements, and prevent more runs, all of which helps everyone on the roster.
Now, the Mets are likely to be giving up quite a bit of offense to improve their run prevention up the middle with this strategy. Bader has a lifetime OPS+ of 92 over seven big league seasons and until last year’s subpar performance at the plate, Taylor has been generally league average to slightly above. So, it’s going to be critical both perform at peak levels of run prevention to off-set their own deficiencies at the plate.
Will this strategy work? Is it the right way to go? I don’t know. But this is what I do know.
The game has evolved into that of athleticism and defense. The best teams in 2023 checked both of those boxes. One follows the other of course as typically, the most athletic player is capable of being a plus-defender. It’s not usually the case the other way around although there are exceptions.
In 2023, the Mets were old, they were generally un-athletic, and they were clearly playing catchup with the rest of the league. They were being outrun and outmaneuvered as a result.
The strategy shift Stearns has employed with this roster is an attempt to evolve the roster into one that can keep pace with the new game.
I think the strategy itself is sound, because I endlessly talked about this problem with the Mets last year.
The real question is, did the Mets get the right players to address the problem?
Hot Stove 🔥
The Cubs remain in contact with free agent OF Cody Bellinger (ESPN)
The Nationals are no longer for sale (Washington Post)
Brandon Woodruff is returning to the Brewers on a two-year deal (New York Post)
Unable to find a deal in MLB, LHP Hyun Jin Ryu is discussing a deal to return to South Korea (YonHap News)
The Yankees have made an offer to free agent LHP Blake Snell (MLB.com)
Former Met Dominic Smith is with the Cubs on a minor league deal (FanSided), as is David Peralta (FanSided)
Mike Trout is remaining loyal to the Angels, although he has asked ownership to improve the roster to no avail (Orange County Register)
Anthony Rendon made some peculiar remarks about his career at Angels camp on Monday (ESPN)