Mike Puma of the New York Post reported this morning that as long as Gonzalez is healthy, he will likely start the season with the team on Opening Day, while Dominic Smith will be sent to Triple-A.
After signing Adrian Gonzalez, one of the main complaints about him that emerged was his reputation for being a clubhouse issue.
Well, former Mets manager, Bobby Valentine talked to Puma regarding his experiences managing Gonzalez in 2012 with the Boston Red Sox.
For starters, he talked about his reputation for his willingness to talk a little too often in which he had this to say:
“You don’t want somebody saying and talking the things he talks about if he’s not being productive, because he will have an opinion on most everything.”
“That bugs some people, but it never bugged me. That’s what you’re getting into, and I think it’s well worth a half-a-million bucks. It’s a heck of a little gamble.”
So, while he has gathered that reputation among his peers as being a “clubhouse lawyer,” Valentine, personally, did not seem to mind it and is applauding the signing by the Mets.
However, he admits his opinion of him was made during a time in which he was still an elite player and he admits that, saying this:
“In 2012 Adrian was still a pure hitter, one of the guys who could give a clinic, that kind of hitter, and he could definitely catch at first base.”
At the time, he was. Gonzalez hit .299/.344/.463 with 18 home runs and 108 RBIs to give him a 116 wRC+ while accumulating 16 defensive runs saved at first base. That gave him a 3.6 WAR in a season that was split between the Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, of late, he has not been nearly the same player he was in 2012. Last season, he hit .242/.287/.355 with only three homers and 30 RBIs to give him a 69 wRC+ in 71 games. The defensive part of his game declined as well as he recorded -2 defensive runs saved which game him a WAR of -1.1.
One thing that Valentine mentioned could also bother people about him, but from a skills perspective, is his lack of speed in which he spoke candidly about.
“He’s the slowest runner I think I’ve ever had, other than a backup catcher I once had. [Gonzalez] is a really slow runner, so that is a detriment a little in trying to get him around the bases.”
For a team that already has issues with speed, that is certainly not something people want to hear. However, speed should be the least of the Mets worries about Gonzalez considering the clubhouse reputation he has developed.
