17
2012
Mets See Kirk Nieuwenhuis As A Stopgap
An article by Hojo's Mojo
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, fielded some questions in his mailbag piece this morning. I thought his reply to a question about Kirk Nieuwenhuis was worth sharing.
Will the Mets give Kirk Nieuwenhuis another chance at center field, or do you think they will pick up some reject from another team?
Now that Andres Torres is back with the Giants and Anthony Gose was not included in the Dickey trade, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that anyone supplants Nieuwenhuis as the default starter in center.
The Mets are still in the hunt for a right-handed hitting outfielder, so if they sign one with center-field experience — Scott Hairston, for example — they could establish a platoon between him and Nieuwenhuis. But that would also require Lucas Duda to win the everyday job in left field, without needing a platoon partner himself.
The Mets have never envisioned Nieuwenhuis as much more than a center field stopgap, holding down the position until Matt den Dekker, Brandon Nimmo and some of the organization’s other up-the-middle talents are ready to contribute. But right now, that’s exactly what they need, so Nieuwenhuis may very well be roaming center come Opening Day.
The Mets have many players with something to prove in 2013. K-New is certainly on the top of that list. He will get a full shot to show he belongs, but his performance in the first two months of the season will dictate whether or not he’s a full time centerfielder or better suited in a reserve role.
About the Author: Rob Johnson
20 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 23 | .410 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
Recent Comments
- wasadeyo: on D’Arnaud To Remain In Boot Camp For Two More Weeks: I guess every scout that saw him...
- B-Met Fan: on Prima Donnas and Clubhouse Chemistry: A Met Perspective: Great post. It was like a...
- Peter S.: on Mets Minors Report 5/18: Puello On A Hot Streak, Wheeler Hits DL, Mejia Makes Rehab Start: I am truly interested in the development...
- Metsie: on Matt Harvey Does It All In Mets 3-2 Win Over Cubs: That's really a trick question 62....I mean...
- wasadeyo: on What Do We Have In Lucas Duda And Is He The Solution At Left Field?: "Luke the Duke's" game will depend on...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5356 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1270 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
If the season started today you have four left handed options for the outfield — Nieuwenhuis, Duda, Baxter and Valdespin. Duda probably has the most offensive potential followed by Valdespin, but the organization is so down on him that even when he was hitting .290 last season they never started him more than twice in a row all year. I am wondering if one or more of these lefties plus Wilmer Flores could land a true, high quality right handed hitting outfielder for the team.
I do not know why but I have high hopes for Kirk. Maybe he reminds me of Lenny or maybe it’s the attitude he sports. Either way I am not upset if he is in center next year. However, if Baxter is in right then I’m upset. Now that this deal with Dickey is done SA better go out of his way to bring in a legit RF’r. If he does that then I would be inclined to reevaluate how much I despise the way he has gone about his business, at least maybe a little LOL.
Nieuwenhuis spits on this stopgap.
I am not sure I believe the organization views him as a stopgap. In fact I think they showed a lot of faith in him when they traded Pagan last year.
Oh boy….he’s going to really need to cut down on that K rate then.
Doesn’t look like we’ve got much choice but to start the season with Kirk in C.
Stopgap = We are waiting for Carlos Beltran Jr to enter the draft
Definitely needs to cut down on the strikeouts and hit lefties better, he should be platooned with Hairston. But I like captain kirk better than any option in free agency. If they sign Hairston and trade for a right fielder they should be okay. Start building the bullpen Alderson. Francisco,Parnell, Famillia,and Edgin. Howell and two right handers, Hairston and bullpen should be done asap when Dickey is done!
If Hairtson is resigned, he probably platoons with Duda in LF or Baxter in RF (if no other RF is brought in.
Agreed. Hairston is only an emergency CF. He is even pretty weak in RF.
Dude, everyone on the 2013 team is a stopgap until they prove otherwise. Why do you think the Mets are selling 2014 so hard?? The Could-be Might-Be stopgaps…or your 2013 New York Mets.
Laughably true!
The 3b is supposed to hit in the gaps but is not a stop gap.
I want Cap Kirk to succeed as long as he cuts down on swinging on that up an away fastball.
Well I guess SA can now say he is done since he has no mandate to spend any extra cash afforded him by Wright deal and Bay deal.
This move, RA, is good going forward but we can’t let SA rest on this and not move to get RH power OF bat.
I have a lot of faith that Niewenhuis can be the centerfielder we need for this year, but not beyond. I’m hoping that Ceciliani (who I saw a lot of in BK in 2010) and Nimmo will get on track and get us into contention for 2015.
I hope that our lineup would be:
C d’Arnaud
1b. Davis
2b. Murphy
3b. Wright
SS. Tejada
LF. Duda/Ceciliani
CF. Ceciliani/Niewenhuis/Nimmo (midseason)
RF. Vaughn/Puello/Nimmo
with our SP’s being
Wheeler
Harvey
Niese
Fulmer
Syndergaard
sounds awesome.
I think Ceciliani is amazing, and when he’s not injured, he’s a great player.
I think Ceciliani is amazing, and when he’s not injured, he’s a great player.”
WHO?????????????????
Quick little kid in A ball that keeps Reyesing his hamstrings.
1. 2015 is a really far time away.
2. You realize this is a lot of hoping right?? That’s good, but I don’t see anything here that convinces me other teams are just going to slide down while we improve.
3. Competing in today’s MLB means being .500 come September. Is 2015 really the earliest we can hope for that?
4. It doesn’t matter how much promise the Mets try to sell. But I don’t see people hanging on with this ownership and front office until 2015. That would mean four straight losing seasons before hoping to be .500 in September 2015.
We already had 4 straight losing seasons. How do you think we got here in the first place?
There are many reasons how “we got here in the first place”. Cutting payroll upwards of 33% didn’t help. Actually it might be the primary reason. This led to rushing up players before they were ready, keep you from being able to sign players to improve the team, and let talent walk out the door. But I digress…the point is, 2015 is a pipedream as constructed, but dreams do come true. Also if the plan was to win in 2015…how stupid was it to lock up Wright. There is simply no good reason for that Wright contract if 2015 is when we’re hoping to be competitive (which again means being .500 come September).
The point is they just do not gave to win with the kids, they win with the ones that prove worthy, I’ll say it again, prospects are like coverages in jail, the ones we don’t use we can trade for players like Cabrera when he was traded to tigers, gio when he was traded to Nats, grander on when he was traded to yanks. I can give a lot more but you get the point. Strong farm means your not limited to free agency as well.