Bats/Throws: S/R
Position: Everything
Date of Birth: 3/14/1989 (29)
Traditonal Stats: .247/.324/.409, 121 Hits, 25 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, 68 RBI, 2 SB
Advanced Stats: 2.5 bWAR, 1.6 fWAR, 103 OPS+, 104 wRC+, .301 BABIP
He’s going to get a lot of money this offseason. He can play just about anywhere and he is an above average hitter. Gonzalez has not had a wRC+ below 100 in four of the last five seasons.
He had a really good 2017 in which he hit .303/.377/.530 but those numbers took a fall as expected. Any team signing him is counting on him to be a .260/.320/.420 hitter while being able to play multiple positions.
While that doesn’t seem like a great offensive player, defensive versatility is highly regarded in today’s game. The 2016 Cubs had three or four guys who could play multiple positions allowing them to exploit matchups. He was a big part of the 2017 Astros team which won the World Series. The World Series MVP in 2018 was Steve Pearce, a utility player who thrived on matchups. Smart teams use guys like this to improve their chances of winning matchups against a certain pitcher.
On the Mets, he could potentially start at first, move to third when Peter Alonso comes up or slide into the outfield. He essentially does what the Mets were hoping Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera could do all these years.
Contract
Most of the free agent predictors believe that he will get four years and around $50 million. I think that is a little steep for him regardless of how much I like him. His market should be large and just about every team in baseball will think long and hard about signing him.
Recommendation
If his market falls to the low $40 million dollar range, I think the Mets should make a play for him. He allows the team to be much more creative in how they use players. They can also move on from players who have no defensive value.
