For Major League clubs, depth is never a bad thing. Each year, teams look to shore up deficiencies and weaknesses on their roster, and look to add positional depth by stashing players in the upper minors in case of an injury.
It’s been widely reported that the injury to Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (out with a strained patella tendon in his left knee) wont be a major issue due to the team’s organizational depth at the position – even if he does miss the start of the season.
Which brings me to the signing of Alejandro De Aza. Back in late December, the Mets agreed to a one-year deal with De Aza for $5.75 million. At the time, Sandy Alderson admitted that he didn’t think Yoenis Cespedes was going to fall back into their laps at the dollars and years, they were willing to offer. So the logic was to have De Aza split time with Juan Lagares in center field, and use the matchups accordingly.
And while I understand that the Mets wanted to fill a void that was left with the surprise retirement of Michael Cuddyer, I wish the the money spent on De Aza could’ve been used to add another bullpen arm instead. Why didn’t the Mets need to go out and sign De Aza you might ask? They already had their backup depth in a slugging outfielder named Travis Taijeron.
Taijeron, 27, has been with the Mets organization since they drafted him the 11th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly Pomona. Right away Taijeron put up big numbers, playing in 56 games with the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2011 and putting up a slash line of .299/.387/.557 for an OPS of .943. He also smashed nine home runs, and drove in 44 runs. Of his 58 hits that season, 27 were for extra bases, which resulted in his monster slugging percentage.
In 2012, Taijeron began the year in Single-A Savannah, putting up a .949 OPS with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs in 64 games for the Sand Gnats. His hot start earned him a promotion to to play with the St. Lucie Mets. Taijeron’s slash line took a nose dive, as he posted a .677 OPS in 48 games, but still managed to add seven home runs to his overall total of 19 for the season. Taijeron did a complete 180 in 2013, starting the year with St. Lucie and slashing .303/.396/.564 for an OPS of .960. He finished the year with Binghamton, combining for a line of .271/.356/.531 for an OPS of .887 while increasing his home run total to a new career high 23 to go with 69 RBI.
Taijeron played the entire season in Binghamton in 2014, posting another year of .800 plus OPS, and double-digit home runs. Taijeron took a liking to the hitter friendly confines of Cashman Field and the Pacific Coast League, and hit career high 25 home runs, along with 71 RBIs in 2015. Taijeron’s numbers are a large enough sample size to garner a look with the big league club, a move I wish the Mets had thought of before jumping at signing De Aza.
This is not an article to bash De Aza however. He does boast a solid resume, and has played in 680 Major League games in his career. He’s had success in Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, and San Francisco, and offers a career OPS of .756 against right-handers, which was to complement Lagares’ .753 OPS against lefties. However, it is worth noting that while Taijeron is a right-handed power hitter, his splits are worth taking a look at.
In 2015, Taijeron had 259 at-bats against right-handers, and hit 13 of his 25 home runs against them. He also posted an OBP of .380, slugging of .483, and an OPS of .863 against righties that year. You want to say that Vegas is a hitter’s haven, fair enough. Lets dive into his earlier numbers than as well.
While playing with Binghamton in 2014, Taijeron hit 7 of his 15 home runs against righties, drove in 33 runs, had an OBP of .351 and slugging of .418, for an OPS of .769 in 201 at bats. While the slugging and OPS numbers were down compared to 2015, a .769 OPS for a platoon player would be a welcome sight to pair with Lagares. The only time De Aza posted higher OPS numbers than .769 was in 2011 while playing with the White Sox in 54 games.
Taijeron posted an OPS of .864 against right-handers in 172 at-bats in 2013 with Binghamton. That’s over 600 at-bats with an average OPS of .832. Surely that’s worth a look if you’re the Mets, front office, and are still keeping an eye of finances and wanting to assemble the best roster for a reasonable cost.
The one issue Taijeron has is his range in center field, or should I say, lack there of. He’s a strong corner outfielder with a good arm, but based on scouting reports wouldn’t quite be able to handle center on a regular basis. But he wouldn’t embarrass them either, especially if the Mets employed defensive substitutions in the later innings. De Aza has had similar criticisms thrown his way as well; especially when you consider that he hasn’t played a consistent center field since 2013 with Chicago. That year, De Aza’s UZR/150 was -4.1, with an ARM (Outfield Arm Runs above average) of -2.3. De Aza posts substantially better numbers in the corner positions, leading us back to Taijeron.
If De Aza and Taijeron are on similar footing defensively, then I think the Mets should trade De Aza this Spring as some outlets are reporting. Taijeron is four years younger, offers more power, higher OBP, SLG, and OPS. And it would save the Mets roughly $5 million to use at their disposal.
The Mets have made it known that they aren’t actively shopping De Aza in a trade, but six teams are very interested in trading for him. De Aza is increasing his value though, currently hitting .438 with an OPS of 1.063 in sixteen spring at-bats. But Taijeron is having an equally impressive spring, invited as a non-roster invitee; Taijeron is hitting .385 with a .421 OBP and 1.087 OPS in 28 plate appearances.
For now, Taijeron will be neatly tucked away in minor league camp as he was reassigned by the Mets on Tuesday. But if the Mets do indeed deal De Aza, he’s only a phone call away, or they could just jog over to the other side of the complex and tell him to get back to Major League camp.
