Time is ticking until Spring Training and the Mets still have to round out their infield. Thankfully for them, there are still some quality free agents out there to be had.
A name that has been connected to New York, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, is Eduardo Nunez. A handful of other teams have also been connected to the 30-year-old, including the crosstown rival New York Yankees. Heyman adds that the interest in Nunez’s services is heating up.
I think Nunez is a pretty reasonable player for the Mets to pursue. They need someone who can man third base, a position that has lacked stability since David Wright has been hampered by injuries.
Between the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox in 2017, Nunez hit .313/.341/.460 with 12 homers and 58 RBI. He also swiped 24 bags which is attractive considering the Mets have struggled in that department in recent years.
At the hot corner, his numbers aren’t flashy, but they’re OK. In 447.2 innings in 2017 at third, he had zero defensive runs saved and a -1.9 UZR. However, he did commit nine errors. His versatility is also something I’m sure the Mets will consider though as he can also play second base and shortstop as well as some outfield.
However, Nunez isn’t adept at playing the keystone rather well. He logged 213.2 innings at the position in 2017, and had -4 DRS and a -1.8 UZR. At shortstop, he wasn’t much better, registering -5 DRS and a -1.6 UZR in 123.0 innings.
So, third base is the position he probably should man. The dilemma this presents is that it would force Asdrubal Cabrera to play second, where he is not good to say the least, as my colleague Logan Barer points out.
“Cabrera has spent significant time at second base in five seasons: ’07, ’08, ’09, ’14, and ’17,” he writes. “The season in which he played the most innings at second (776.2 innings), 2008, was also his best when he tallied 11 DRS and a 5.3 UZR — above average/good. Keep in mind, that was 10 years ago.
“In 2009 he regressed, with -4 DRS and a -2.4 UZR in 244.0 innings — below average. He would take a hiatus from second base until 2014 with the Nationals when in 432.0 innings he accounted for -10 DRS and a -2.2 UZR — below average/poor. Now on to 2017 where he had a horrible -6 DRS (in just 274.1 innings) but a barely positive 0.9 UZR. Overall, with 2017 included, Asdrubal Cabrera seems unfit to play second base.”
Nunez would provide the Mets with a solid leadoff presence while giving them OK defense at the hot corner, but I don’t know if it’s really much of an upgrade if it means Cabrera has to play second, unless they can somehow bring back a Neil Walker type and have Cabrera relegated to a super utility role.
