One shortstop that seems to be high on many a Met fans’ wish list is Chicago’s Alexei Ramirez, and it’s been widely reported that the Mets have already been in contact with the White Sox for their All Star infielder. Ramirez batted .273 last season with a .305 on-base, 15 home runs and 74 RBI. He’s an excellent defender as well, but are you willing to give up Noah Syndergaard or Zack Wheeler to get him?
Let me ask you something… How much more offense would Alexei Ramirez provide next season over the Mets’ incumbent shortstop Wilmer Flores?
Brian Mangan tackled that very question over at MetsBlog and concluded that giving up seven years of our number one prospect in Syndergaard to acquire Ramirez simply is not worth the incremental upgrade we would get out if it. And he’s right.
“Flores is projected to be a pretty good shortstop next year. FanGraphs projects that he will have the 12th best OPS among shortstops, while being worth 2.0 WAR. Meanwhile, Ramirez is projected to put up only a .679 OPS with a 2.3 WAR, due in part to his excellent defensive skills.”
“Ramirez is a fine player, but he provides such a small upgrade over Wilmer Flores that he will not be worth what it costs to acquire him.”
Honestly my friends, as I look at those 15 home runs, 74 RBI and .305 OBP that Ramirez posted last season, I’d be terribly shocked if Flores didn’t blow those numbers out of the water in 2015 with 600 plate appearances.
Ramirez is 33 and has a career 92 OPS+ over seven major league seasons. In what we can all agree was a rough rookie season for Flores who was used so sporadically, the 22-year old posted a 90 OPS+ in 2014.Is it that much of a stretch to believe Flores will easily top that and likely best Ramirez as he continues to improve and gain more experience?
One Sandy Alderson bopped Terry Collins off the side of his head and told him to start playing Flores everyday over Ruben Tejada, we really saw what Flores was capable of. Check out the results…
Over his final 96 plate appearances of the season. Flores posted a .791 OPS with four home runs and 13 RBI.
Conversely, over his final 96 plate appearances of the season, Ramirez posted a .569 OPS with two home runs and ten RBI.
Want to give up Zack Wheeler or Noah Syndergaard for one, maybe two years, of that?
If the White Sox were willing to swap Ramirez for one of Dillon Gee, Bartolo Colon. or Jon Niese, I’d be more receptive to Alexei. But that’s not happening.
Sandy Alderson has often stated that he is willing to begin the season with Wilmer Flores at shortstop. So am I. An incremental upgrade at shortstop shouldn’t have to cost us 6-7 years of a potential top of the rotation starter.
