To the infield-
The corners are set. Barring injuries, the corners are locked in for a very long time. Third baseman David Wright is the face of the franchise, the team captain and the Mets ambassador to anything and everything the franchise is involved with. And what's not to love? Wright was given a long term, big money contract ensuring he will be a Met for life and he does the fan base proud. He's Mr. Met without the giant head.
There are concerns about his health. Wright has a history of missing significant time, and the nagging, lingering injuries have led to diminished offense. But I like to think David Wright has many productive seasons left, and a few great ones, too.
The Mets made a clear commitment to Lucas Duda at first base with the expulsion of Ike Davis early last season. It turned out to be the right move as despite his deficiencies against left handed pitching, Duda led the Mets in home runs (30) and runs batted in (92). Duda insists he will figure out lefty hurlers but he's been saying that all his life, and at age 28 I can't see him improving much against southpaws before he reaches the end of his prime. As mentioned yesterday, the acquisition of Michael Cuddyer will make the dismissals of Josh Satin and Eric Campbell painless, as he is an upgrade.
It is the middle infield where the Mets have some serious questions...
I have mixed feeling about Daniel Murphy at second base. I understand he led the team in hits (172) and batting average (.289) but those number aren't exactly staggering compared to other team's leaders. Despite scoring 79 runs he only drove in 57. In 596 at bats he struck out only 86 times, but he drew a paltry 39 walks. His $5.7 million price tag seems a bit steep for that offense. His defense, to put it nicely, is a liability. He has trouble turning the double play and makes more than a fair share of errors.
I can't help but think the Mets missed an opportunity to trade him at last year's deadline when he could have returned something valuable. Now they couldn't give him away if they wanted to and they can't afford to trade him, as they have a more pressing need at shortstop and don't need distractions at second.
Shortstop. (sighs) This is a position where, like center field, I would sacrifice offense for great defense. The Mets have neither right now. At age 25 Ruben Tejada is already deemed a bust because he can't hit to save his life. Wilmer Flores is better with the bat but his glove is inferior to Tejada's. The free agent market is weak and no team wanted to trade for any of the Mets exemplary (and extra) starting pitchers. If the Texas Rangers don't want Dillon Gee, Noah Syndergaard and another piece for Elvis Andrus, then that's their (incorrect) decision to live with. I had no interest in trading with the Cubs for Starling Castro and even less interest in trading with Philadelphia for Jimmy Rollins.
The only free agent that intrigued me was Oakland's Jed Lowrie and he signed with Houston early this morning. I don't even want to know what kind of money Stephen Drew will be demanding. Met fans can complain all they want but the best shortstop right now for the team is Wilmer Flores. Keep Tejada as backup and late inning defense.
In the interim, the best thing the Mets can do is have the Las Vegas AAA club start Wilfredo Tovar at short EVERY DAY until he is big-league ready, and keep Dilson Herrera in Vegas as the every day second baseman and develop his offense. Herrera showed a lot of promise as a September call up and I think he can replace Murphy for good by the end of next year.
I truly believe the Amazin's every day shortstop is already here, be it either Flores or Tovar, but they are still a year away, at best.
Have some patience, my Met brethren, on the next shortstop and part III of this series where I do pitchers and catchers. Stay tuned...
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