Should the Mets call up Ryan Clifford to play first base?
Also - Francisco Álvarez might rejoin the Mets this week
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were off on Monday and will kick off a six game homestand when they welcome the Cardinals to Citi Field tonight
Catcher Francisco Alvarez is expected to rejoin the Mets on this homestand and potentially as early as tonight. He’s been on the IL since 5/12 with a torn meniscus
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Andrew and Rich recap the Mets’ 3-3 trip out west, discuss the rise of the Mets’ rookie outfielders, and more as the Mets look to stabilize their season into mid-June.
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Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (29-36) vs Cardinals (35-28)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Freddy Peralta (4-4, 3.63 ERA) vs. RHP Dustin May (3-6, 4.59 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The pros and cons of the Ryan Clifford debate ✍️
Carson Benge’s rapid ascension leading up to his career day on Sunday, combined with the stability and fun A.J. Ewing has brought to center field since his promotion, has shifted my attention to the next potential rookie that could soon call Citi Field home—first baseman Ryan Clifford.
The idea of a Clifford promotion from Triple-A Syracuse is not black and white, but as I sit here on a Mets off day, it feels like the perfect opportunity to delve into the pros and cons.
For starters, it is no secret the Mets lineup is simply starved for power, and that’s something Clifford, at least in theory, could fix in droves.
Only four players in Triple-A have hit more homers than he has this season, and his left-handed power would be a dramatic boon for the Mets offense. But defense also has to be a consideration here.
Clifford is not necessarily a natural first baseman—he’s played a lot of corner outfield in the minor leagues as well—but it’s a safe assumption he’s a better bet at the position than anyone the big club has tried there thus far.
Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Jared Young, and Jorge Polanco have all made starts at first base for the Mets this season, and not one of them is an actual first baseman. In fact, on both sides of the ball, the position has been nothing short of a black hole for New York all season, to put it lightly.
Polanco’s signing has been a catastrophic failure, as he’s missed all but 14 games this season due to a series of maladies, and when he was on the field, he did not hit a lick.
His absence has led to Vientos playing nearly every day, and while his right-handed thump in the middle of the Mets lineup is certainly needed, it is becoming harder and harder to remember his breakout 2024 campaign.
The veteran is currently slashing .214/.248/.618, he’s hitless in June, and his defense has predictably shown itself to be a liability several times in the last week alone. His struggles have led to more starts at position number three for Young, and while he’s swung a nice bat, we all know he is an outfielder.
So the idea of Clifford coming up and helping to solve two problems at once would be a real feeding two birds with one stone scenario for the Mets.
So what’s the downside, you ask?
Well, for me personally, I’d like to see a player dominate a level before being brought to the Major Leagues.
Nothing about Clifford’s .222/.300/.466 slash line in 61 games with Syracuse screams dominance. He’s also struck out an astonishing 90 times in 221 at-bats. He’s profiling as an offensive player who when he connects, the ball goes a long way. But who also has far too much swing and miss in his game.
That’s not exactly something you anticipate getting drastically better against elite Major League pitching.
There’s also a lineup construction issue here. It is no secret the Mets offense is currently far too left-handed. With Juan Soto, Benge, and Ewing in the lineup every day, along with some combination of Young, Baty, and MJ Melendez most days, this team lacks any real significant balance.
Bo Bichette has struggled to replace Pete Alonso as the team’s primary right-handed option, Francisco Alvarez has missed the better part of a month, and switch-hitter Francisco Lindor is also currently on the shelf.
For so many reasons, the Mets have desperately needed Vientos to be the player he was two years ago to bring the stability and balance the team needs to the middle of the order. But at what point do you stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?
Clifford is regarded as the future at the first base position for this organization.
At some point, you simply have to stop overthinking this and give him a chance to sink or swim. If the team wants to wait until Alvarez and Lindor are both back before considering that, I could see the reasoning. But it’s also hard to ignore the spark young players bring to a team and a fanbase. If Clifford were to come up and produce, it would be yet another shot in the arm towards the resurgence we’re all hoping to see from this club.
And if he doesn’t? It’s not like they were getting anything from the position elsewhere.
Around the League 🚩
Josh Naylor crushed a 5th inning grand slam in the Mariners 6-3 win in Baltimore
Yandy Diaz homered and drove in two in the Rays 3-1 win over the Red Sox
The Angels activated veteran Trey Mancini who will play in the big leagues for the first time in nearly three years
I didn't know that birds ate stones.
Clifford seems to need time at each level to master it. So putting him in the bigs is a double edged sword. He has not mastered AAA yet. But time up this year, might cut into his learning curve next year. If the Mets are out of it, might as well do it.