Who’s on first?
General manager Sandy Alderson appeared on 710 WOR with Pete McCarthy on Friday, and suggested the possibility of outfielder Jay Bruce receiving regular starts at first base this season.
Alderson said he wouldn’t have a problem with Bruce playing first base on a “reasonably every day basis” if that was in the best interest of the team, despite the fact that the 31-year-old hasn’t played there at all this spring.
For his career, Bruce has logged just 117 innings at first base, 91 of which came last season. Bruce wasn’t bad in his limited action at the position, registering zero defensive runs saved (DRS) and a -0.5 ultimate zone range (UZR).
Adrian Gonzalez will likely begin the season as the team’s regular first baseman, despite his poor showing in Grapefruit League play, where he has recorded a .216/.273/.294 batting line over 51 at-bats.
However, if Gonzalez continues to falter in the regular season, Alderson says the team is keeping their options open in the event they need to replace him.
Brandon Nimmo has had a hot spring in the outfield, and when Michael Conforto returns, it could create a logjam out there. This could make it easy to shift Bruce to first and have Nimmo, Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes hold down the three outfield positions.
Infielder Wilmer Flores could also get frequent starts at first, especially against lefties whom he batted .309 against last season with seven home runs in 110 plate appearances.
Defensively, Flores has spent 341.2 frames at first over his big league career, logging -1 DRS and a 1.6 UZR, which is actually pretty solid when you compare it to his statistics at other positions across the diamond.
At the end of the day, Bruce and Flores may not be your ideal first basemen, but with Gonzalez struggling and Dominic Smith out indefinitely, they represent the team’s best alternate options.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out, and if Gonzalez can hold down the position, or if the Mets will need to Dutch boy the dam until they find a more concrete option down the line either in a healthy and resurgent Dominic Smith or…. I’m looking at you, Peter Alonso.
