The Mets are coming off a tough weekend where they lost three consecutive games to the last place Atlanta Braves, who came into the series with a 20-46 record. New York now sits at 36-32, which is good for third place in the National League East. Fans are beginning to panic as the Washington Nationals have begun to run away with the division, but the Mets are determined to stay in the hunt. After Sunday's loss, manager Terry Collins claimed that we may see some major shake ups with the current roster. In this article, I will break down what I believe the Mets should do, placing each potential transaction in order of likelihood.
The Obvious
Activate C Travis d'Arnaud from the DL. Demote C Kevin Plawecki to Triple-A Las Vegas.
This move will probably be announced today or before Tuesday's game against Kansas City, as it is expected that d'Arnaud will take over the starting catching gig to help boost the lineup. Before going on the disabled list in April, d'Arnaud was hitting a measly .196/.288/.261, so his addition is far from a guarantee to improve the lineup. However, Plawecki was simply not getting the job done on both sides of the field. At the plate, he hit .194/.301/.258 in 41 games, and had a 24% caught stealing percentage from behind the dish.
Personally, I was not impressed at all from Plawecki, so I wouldn't mind if he spends a sizable portion of this season down in Triple-A to correct his swing and defensive struggles. As a former 1st round pick, the potential is still there for him to be a quality player in the league, so it would be ideal for the organization to ship him off to Las Vegas where he will receive consistent at-bats.
Possible Moves
DFA OF Alejandro de Aza. Promote OF Roger Bernandina from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Many questioned why the Mets brought in de Aza this past winter for the steep price of $5.75 million when they really didn't have a strong need for him. They could have brought back OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis for a fraction of the cost, and likely had gotten the same results, but Sandy Alderson elected to go with the seasoned veteran.
In 47 games for the Mets, de Aza has hit .169/.229/.247, and will likely be on the chopping block very soon. To give perspective, there are 9 pitchers in the league right now who have hit for a higher batting average, thus making de Aza a strong under performer.
Now, the obvious choice to replace him would be top prospect OF Brandon Nimmo, but I chose to ignore him in this scenario. I have high hopes for the 23 year old, but I want him to start everyday if he were to be called up, as it wouldn't do his development any good if he sat on the bench for 3/4 of the team's games.
I picked Roger Bernadina for a few reasons. First off, he has experience just like de Aza, tallying almost 1,500 plate appearances in 7 career seasons. Most importantly, he has hit .288/.378/.441 in Triple-A this year. While I realize that Las Vegas is heavily hitter-friendly, the addition of Bernadina may provide some kind of a spark to a Mets bench that has been struggling as of late.
Demote OF Michael Conforto to Triple-A Las Vegas. Promote OF Brandon Nimmo from Triple-A Las Vegas.
I am going to make this clear, I do not want this to happen, but it certainly sounds like the team is leaning toward sending their young outfielder to the minor leagues. Conforto has had an interesting season, hitting .365/.442/.676 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in the first 21 games. Since that point, he has hit .157/.212/.321 with 6 HR and 12 RBI in 40 games. New York had high hopes for the 23 year old, as he was named the team's starting left fielder a few months ago after only playing just above 50 games at the MLB level in 2015.
If the team were to consider sending him down to Triple-A, I wouldn't be totally against it granted they finally promote fellow former 1st round pick Brandon Nimmo to the major leagues. Nimmo has had a phenomenal season for the 51's, hitting .325/.404/.513 with 5 HR and 33 RBI in 58 games. As I said earlier, the only scenario I would like to see Nimmo is if he is put into a starting role, so this would be the ideal move to make in Conforto's absence.
Very Unlikely/Out of the Box Move
Promote 2B Dilson Herrera from Triple-A Las Vegas. Demote INF Ty Kelly OR INF Matt Reynolds to Triple-A Las Vegas. Move 2B Neil Walker to 3B.
The Mets have a huge hole at third base now that David Wright is out for the majority of the year, and with an entire month between now and the trading deadline, the team has to find a solution. In the short term, they have given INF Wilmer Flores a chance at the starting job, and he has actually done fairly well. In the month of June, he has hit .333/.400/.521 in 17 games, but has been up and down in the field. As a 24 year old, many still hope that he will eventually become the long-term successor at third base.
As you can see, I labeled this move as very unlikely, and I would be very surprised to see it happen at this point in time. 2B Dilson Herrera has been raking it up in Triple-A for a few years now, and as a 22 year old, many see him as the future second baseman of this team. Right now, he is hitting .288/.338/.492 with 10 HR and 38 RBI in the minor leagues, so he has proven to be major league ready. The problem is the Mets currently have veteran 2B Neil Walker manning the position, and he has actually had a solid year himself.
Coming into today, Walker is hitting .266/.335/.477 with 14 HR and 28 RBI in 63 games. The only issue with moving him to third base is he has tallied a grand total of 15 games at the position. Additionally, the last time he even played the position was in 2010, so there may be a defensive liability.
Personally, I would keep him at 2B as he and SS Asdrubal Cabrera have formed a solid middle infield combination. I want the team to continue to ride the Wilmer Flores experiment for as long as they can, and in July, acquire a proven third baseman that could provide an instant boost to a depleted lineup.
If you would like to check out direct quotes from the Mets players and coaches, take a look at this article by ESPN's Adam Rubin.
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