Mets made it official and just announced that Eric Young Jr. has been non-tendered. Looks like Ruben Tejada will be back in 2015 in some capacity, likely as a backup middle infielder.
Good Luck to you, EY…
December 1
Last month, MLB Trade Rumors tabbed Eric Young Jr. and Ruben Tejada as non-tender candidates for the Mets.
However, Adam Rubin of ESPN NY hears from team insiders that the Mets are likely to hang onto Tejada who still has some value in a backup role.
Sources have also told Rubin that Young will most certainly be released because the Mets believe they can get comparable production from a fifth-outfielder type for a lower salary.
We should know very soon what the Mets will do as tomorrow’s non-tender deadline quickly approaches.
November 15 – What To Do With Tejada and Young
Deciding what to do with Ruben Tejada is somewhat of a difficult decision this offseason. He definitely improved from his horrid 2013 season to become serviceable defensively, and he has always hit lefties relatively well.
He’s not a starting shortstop option for the Mets going forward, but as I’ve stated in the past, he can have value in a platoon role, or strictly as a backup middle infielder. The problem with him being in that role, is that I have never once seen Terry Collins bring in a defensive replacement for Daniel Murphy at second base, even in games when Flores was the starting shortstop this past season.
Sandy should see if anyone is willing to take a chance on him taking a step forward this offseason, as he is still only 24 years old. If nothing is available via the trade route, it would be beneficial for the Mets to just non-tender him and take the $2.5 million he will make in arbitration and apply it to another area of need. There is a good chance that Matt Reynolds or Wilfredo Tovar could provide similar value at league minimum.
The decision on how the Mets handle Eric Young Jr. this offseason is tricky for me. On one hand, he played really good defense in left field this season, is one of the best base stealers in the league, by all accounts is a team first player, and for whatever reason, the Mets seem to win, more often than not, when he is in the lineup.
On the other hand, he isn’t very good in center field, and doesn’t have the arm to play right, so having him restricted to left field limits the construction of the roster, and more specifically, the lineup, as LF is traditionally where you put your worst defensive outfielder, to add some pop to the offense. For whatever reason, Young has been terrible offensively at Citi Field, which I find very odd as the park is seemingly tailored for his game.
Young batted .210/.267/.283 at Citi last season while slashing at .246/.329/.338 on the road. A .329 OBP, with his speed is an asset in the NL, but his overall numbers are not.
That said, the addition of Michael Cuddyer seemingly makes EY a lot more expendable than a week ago. And at a cost of $2.5 million dollars, he’s as good as gone now.
