Can Flores Replace Wright At 3B If He Misses Considerable Time?
Despite the spinal stenosis, David Wright was playing well in 2016. He was hitting .226/.350/.438 with seven homeruns and 14 RBI. He had hit homeruns in three straight games before it was discovered he had a herniated disc in his neck. It was a cruel setback for a player who has worked so hard to get back to this point. It leaves everyone questioning if this is the straw that will break the camel’s back. If it is, or if Wright needs another lengthy stint on the disabled list, the Mets are going to have to find an immediate and viable solution to third base.
Internal Options
- Wilmer Flores – Going into this season, the Mets tabbed Flores to be the main backup at four infield positions. With Wright needing days off here and there due to the spinal stenosis, it was presumed Flores would play a lot of third base. At the outset, Flores appears to be the player who will get the first crack at the position. However, if he continues hitting .167/.231/.267, the Mets are going to be forced to turn in another direction.
- T.J. Rivera – Eric Campbell already had his shot, and he hit .159/.270/.222 leading him to be designated for assignment. Matt Reynolds had a brief call-up and he hit .100/.182/.100 in limited duty. The revolving door has now brought us to Ty Kelly, who is hitting .167/.231/.167 in limited duty. While this triumvirate has been given the opportunities and failed to hit, T.J. Rivera shockingly remains in Triple-A hitting .364/.399/.535. This isn’t a case of bloated PCL numbers and in line with his six year production as a pro. Sooner or later, he’s going to get a shot to play in the majors with the way he has been playing. But will it be with another organization?
- Gavin Cecchini – The former 2012 first round pick for the Mets is currently hitting .308/.390/.400 in his first season in AAA. The issue is in his minor league career, Cecchini has only played SS. If he gets called up, the Mets would have to choose between playing him at a position he has never played before or making him the SS while Asdrubal Cabrera moves to third, where he has only played one inning in his major league career.
- Dilson Herrera – The Mets could elect to call-up Herrera to play second while sliding their second basemen to third like they have the past few seasons. The issue here is that despite a spurt of home runs earlier in the season, Herrera is not raking in AAA the way he usually does, and Neil Walker has only played 15 games at third base over his eight year career. Still, Herrera was out of the lineup on Wednesday night for Las Vegas, could he already be on the way?
External Options
If you are going to make a move at this point, you are really only going to be able to obtain a player from a team that is completely out of the pennant race, or a player that has been designated for assignment. With the current two-team Wild Card format, a safe line of demarcation is any team that is 10 games or more out of first place is likely out of contention.
Looking over the standings, that would mean the Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds (who have nothing of value), and the San Diego Padres. Of course, due consideration should be given to the Oakland Athletics, who are always ready, willing, and able to make a trade.
- Trevor Plouffe – Plouffe is one of the many reasons the Twins are having a down year as he is hitting .246/.273/.369. For his career, he’s a .245/.307/.417 hitter. As such, he’s not going to resolve any of the Mets offensive problems. Also, as per UZR and DRS, he has only been an adequate defensive third baseman meaning he doesn’t have the superior defense to carry his bat.
- Eduardo Nunez – The former Yankee is having a nice season for the Twins hitting .340/.367/.507 in 42 games. This year he has mostly played third and shortstop. In the event Wright does come back, Nunez can be a valuable utility player. The main issue with the 29 year old Nunez is that he will not be cheap as he still has a couple of cost controlled years before he becomes a free agent in 2018.
- Kelly Johnson – Johnson was a valuable bench piece for the Mets last year hitting .250/.304/.414. The benefits are you know he can play in New York, and he should not be expensive. The downside is he’s hitting .218/.279/.307 this year.
- Gordon Beckham – While Beckham has never quite lived up to the hype, he is having a good season this year as a utility player for the Braves, playing second, third, and short. The career .244/.307/.374 hitter is hitting .293/.393/.446 for the Braves. Maybe it’s the small sample size of 30 games, maybe it’s the change to the National League, but Beckham is a better offensive player this year.
- Aaron Hill – Hill is having a tremendous year as the Brewers’ third baseman, hitting .275/.351/436. He’s also played second in his career. The main sticking point with Hill is his salary. He is earning $12 million this year with the Arizona Diamondbacks paying $6.5 million of that. If the Mets were to obtain Hill, they would have to take on the prorated portion of the $5.5 million the Brewers are paying him, or part with additional prospects to get the Brewers to eat some of that salary.
- Brett Wallace – Wallace is a left-handed hitting third baseman. He has bounced around as he has never reached his full potential at the plate. He has also been a below average fielder wherever he has played, including third base. He seems to have found a home as a Padre these past two seasons. This year he is hitting .219/.379/.381. The issue with him is he’s still a cost-controlled player just entering his arbitration years.
- Yangervis Solarte – Former Met Roger Cedeno‘s nephew, Solarte, is hitting .300/.397/.600 this year while playing mostly third base. He is a versatile player with a good bat. He is only making $525,000 this year, and he’s not arbitration eligible until 2017. If you want him, you’re going to have to pry him away from the Padres. Remember, this is the same Padres front office that rejected Michael Fulmer for Justin Upton. Solarte would be a great fit for the Mets, but it is unlikely they are going to be willing to pay the price of what it’ll take to acquire him.
- Ruben Tejada – Simply put, Tejada is a major league caliber player that is better suited to playing shortstop. He was a career .255/.320/.323 hitter on the Mets. He played poorly with the Cardinals hitting .176/.225/.235 before being released. He’s more of a bench option than he is a third base option. Even so, the Mets should claim him and put him on the bench
- Jed Lowrie – Lowrie is in the midst of a good season hitting .309/.351/.360 for the Athletics. He is capable of playing second, third, or shortstop. However, he has little power, and he is in the middle of a relatively large contract that pays him $7.5 million this year and $6 million next year with a team option/buyout in 2018.
- Danny Valencia – Valencia is having a terrific season, hitting .333/.370/.558 while playing third base for the the Athletics. He has an extremely reasonable $3.15 million salary for 2016, however, that is part of the problem. With a reasonable salary this year, and still under team control until 2018 he could be tough to get on the cheap. Given the way Billy Beane does business, he will be extremely expensive.
Overall, that is the current landscape as far as options go. If Wright is really going to miss a significant amount of time for the second straight season, the Mets will need to move in one or more of these directions. If the Mets enter the trade market, they’ll have to part with some top assets to acquire the good, quality players like Solarte and Valencia. It’s more likely they try to deal with the Brewers, Padres or even the Athletics – a team that really drives a hard bargain. Anyway you slice it, if Wright is out longterm the Mets certainly face some tough decisions.
