Mets Should Turn Focus to Marwin Gonzalez

With the calendar thankfully set to turn to 2021 in a few days, players are scheduled to report to spring training in less than two months, meaning the New York Mets have a ton of work ahead of them during this final stretch of the offseason.

Among other things, the front office is attempting to improve the club’s infield this winter, particularly on the left side. But after infielder Ha-seong Kim – who garnered some interest from the Mets – signed with the San Diego Padres on Monday, there’s now one less name available on the open market in that department.

Needing to address the vacancy at third base, management could make a strong push for someone like Justin Turner and attempt to lure him away from Los Angeles Dodgers. That being said, general manager Jared Porter and his staff have expressed a desire for the team to become a lot more versatile moving forward, which means they would benefit from acquiring a super utility player before next season opens.

Though there aren’t too many players in free agency who fit that description, Marwin Gonzalez – who’s coming off a two-year, $21 million contract with the Minnesota Twins – appears to be the top available player in that category. Considering New York was linked to him back in 2018, it’d make plenty of sense for them to revisit that idea this offseason, especially since he’s maintained his impressive defensive results over the last two seasons.

Dating back to his days with the Houston Astros, Gonzalez has bounced around all over the diamond every since making his major league debut in 2012. Carrying his versatility with him over to the “Twin Cities,” the 31-year old continued providing reliable defense at first, second, and third base along with in left field as well.

Starting at the hot corner, which is where he spent the majority of his time over the last two campaigns, the 6-foot-1 utility player complied 460 2/3 innings at third base, finishing with the highest UZR/150 (18.5), tied for the ninth-most DRS (six), the 12th-highest UZR (3.5), and the 19th-highest RngR among all third basemen who compiled at least 300.0 innings since 2019, according to FanGraphs.com.

Additionally, he also posted a 4 OAA during that same timeframe.

Moving over the right side of the infield, Gonzalez also enjoyed a solid amount of success at second base during his tenure with the Twins, producing a 3 OAA, 2 DRS, 0.5 RngR, -0.1 UZR, and a 1.4 UZR/150 over his combined 184 1/3 innings.

As for first base, the 2017 World Series champion performed reasonably effective during his limited playing time, creating a 3 OAA, -2 DRS, -1.0 RngR, -0.3 UZR, along with a -2.7 UZR/150 through 220 1/3 innings.

Though he didn’t spend any time in left field last season, the native of Venezuela excelled during his brief time there in 2019, as he finished with the highest defensive fWAR rating (4.3) and UZR/150 (59.0), tied for the sixth-most DRS (five), the sixth-highest UZR (4.9), and tied for the eighth-highest OAA (-1) among all left fielders who compiled at least 100.0 innings.

Taking into account these recent metrics, there’s no question Gonzalez could help improve the Mets’ run prevention next season, especially at third base and in left field. But since he’s also capable of being positioned at other locations, his added versatility could potentially help keep teammates Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Michael Conforto rested and healthy throughout an entire 162-game campaign.

While he’d be coveted for his defense and versatility, the switch-hitting batter has proven to be effective at the plate in recent years, as he’s hit at least 15 home runs and 50 RBIs in three of his last four seasons. Hitting his peak in 2017, the veteran hitter eclipsed career-highs in extra-base hits (57), RBIs (90), ISO (.226), BABIP (.343), wOBA (.382), wRC+ (144) and fWAR (4.0).

Considering he hasn’t been able to replicate those results over the last three seasons, no one would be expecting him to generate one of the best offensive performances of his career in 2021, although it’d certainly be a welcomed occurrence.

Still, there’s a very good chance Gonzalez can dramatically improve off his disappointing offensive performance from the 2020 campaign.

Historically, Gonzalez is someone who struggles out of the gate and usually requires somewhere around 100 plate appearances to find his footing in the batter’s box. But since last season was shortened to just 60 games, he only earned 199 plate appearances and didn’t receive enough time to break out of his annual early-season slump.

As a result of his lack of at-bats, the former Twin witnessed major declines involving the majority of his offensive results, as he produced just four doubles, five home runs, 22 RBIs, .109 ISO, .241 BABIP, .269 wOBA, .338 wOBAcon, 21.2% LD rate, 38.4% hard-hit rate, a 106.0 mph maximum exit velocity, a 66 wRC+ score, a 0.2 fWAR rating, and a slashing line of .211/.286/.320/.606.

In comparison, the nine-year MLB pro generated 19 doubles, 15 home runs, 55 RBIs, .151 ISO, .310 BABIP, .313 wOBA, .389 wOBAcon, 23.9% LD rate, 43.9% hard-hit rate, a 109.2 mph maximum exit velocity, a 93 wRC+ score, a 1.4 fWAR rating, along with a slashing line of .264/.322/.414/.736 over his 463 plate appearances in 2019.

But as his 2020 campaign rolled on, Gonzalez started to hit his stride at the plate in September, only to have the regular season come to an end before he was able to salvage his performance.

For a better understanding of his late-season turnaround, here’s Gonzalez’s rolling expected slugging chart from the 2020 campaign:

And here’s his rolling expected wOBA chart:

Assuming next season will return to 162 games, which could still change, Gonzalez shouldn’t have any issues bouncing back positively from his poor showing last season. At the right price, there’s a strong possibility he could prove to be a bargain for any team that acquires his services.

If Gonzalez is willing to take a similar amount to his previous deal, then he’d definitely be a clear and obvious match for the Mets this offseason. Adding in his lengthy playoff experience – he’s advanced to the postseason five separate times since 2015 – he’d also provide a strong veteran presence in the clubhouse, which could certainly benefit this team in a massive way.

After struggling on the open market back in 2018, the former Astro is probably hoping to prevent that situation from happening once again this time around. With that in mind, he may be aiming to sign his next contract very shortly, as finding a new home as quickly as possible would provide him with plenty of time to prepare for spring training.

Even though the Mets are heavily focused on the top-tier free agents right now, they’d be wise to at least explore a potential deal with Gonzalez before the offseason concludes or they might miss out on a perfect chance to become a much more versatile club next season.