Ian Desmond
Position: Shortstop
Bats: Right – Throws: Right
Born: September 20, 1985 (Age 30)
Since Jose Reyes left the Mets in 2011, New York has had a consistent issue filling the shortstop position. However, this offseason there are many options the Mets could consider to address this issue. One player they could pursue former Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond.
Desmond, who won Silver Slugger Awards from 2012-2014 topping the likes of Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Reyes, has been one of the most consistent offensive shortstops in the majors since his first full season in 2010. His best season came in 2012, when he finished 16th in MVP voting after slashing .292/.335/.511 with 25 home runs, 73 RBI, and 21 stolen bases.
Since 2010, he has averaged 151 games a season, with 18 home runs, 70 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He is a career .264 hitter, with a .312 on-base and .424 slugging. However, he does strike out a lot, going down on strikes 187 times this past season and 183 times in 2014.
2015 was a down season for him, performing below almost all of his career norms. The power was there, as he hit 19 home runs, but be only drove in 62 runs while slashing at .233/.290/.384. Before this season, however, he was generally considered to be the best offensive shortstop outside of Tulowitzki.
Defensively, Desmond is a major liability. Since 2010, he has averaged almost 24 errors a season (23.8), committing 27 in 2015. That’s nine more errors than Wilmer Flores has committed in his entire career. Desmond has a very strong albeit inaccurate throwing arm, but his inconsistency is glaring.
The real question is, would Ian Desmond, especially considering his defensive deficiencies, be enough of an upgrade over Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada to make it worth the price tag? Let’s compare their 2015 seasons:
Ian Desmond: .233/.290/.384 156 Games, 19 HR, 62 RBI, 13 SB, 187 K, 27 errors
Wilmer Flores: .263/.295/.408 137 Games, 16 HR, 59 RBI, 0 SB, 63 K, 14 errors
Flores had the better offensive season, with the exception of stolen bases. If you extrapolate the rest of Flores’ numbers over as many games as Desmond, he would have hit more home runs and driven in more runs than his counterpart.
Flores proved this year that he is capable of being a satisfactory defender, hovering right around “average”. Ruben Tejada, on the other hand, is a very good defender, as well as being relatively effective at the plate as well.
Ian Desmond is a very good player, obviously. However, is he a good fit for the Mets? When exploring the market, I believe, as a pitching based team, the Mets should value a shortstop’s glove above his bat. With the Mets’ outstanding pitching staff, having a strong defense up the middle is crucial.
Flores is a better defender than Desmond, and has the potential to perform just as well offensively, aside from stolen bases. Furthermore, while Desmond is 30 years old, Wilmer Flores is only 24, and under team control through the 2019 season.
Contract: MLB Trade Rumors predicts Desmond will get a 5-year deal worth about $80 million. That would pay him through his age 35 season. He was tendered a qualifying offer (1 year, $15.8 million) so if the Mets were to sign him, they’d be forfeiting a 1st round pick for the second year in a row. (Michael Cuddyer last offseason)
Recommendation: Hard Pass. That is a lot of money for a major defensive downgrade and not that much of an upgrade on offense. There are other shortstops the Mets could consider instead of Desmond both on the trade block as well as free agency. Flores can eventually become a very solid offensive player as well as a satisfactory defender. It would behoove the Mets to stick with him for now and have Tejada continue his backup role. Spend the money on other issues such as a big bat at another position (that’s not a major defensive downgrade), or add a couple of shutdown relievers for the bullpen.
