Bronx native T.J. Rivera visited his former high school today. Introduced by Mets GM Sandy Alderson, Rivera addressed the current students of Lehman High School, talking about his long and unlikely journey to the Major Leagues. While this is certainly a great story about the hometown kid making it to the major leagues, something Sandy Alderson said raised some eyebrows in the Mets news world.
When Alderson introduced T.J., he described him as, “The second baseman of the New York Mets.”
That wording is very important. Not “Mets infielder,” not “one of the second baseman,” THE second baseman.
There has been much talk about the Mets second base situation. Should they extend a $17.2 million qualifying offer to Neil Walker or sign him altogether? Should the Mets explore other external options to fill the void at second base, or is Wilmer Flores ready for that role?
Many options have been considered, but it does seem that T.J. Rivera is dust in the wind in these conversations. Which, in turn, is why Sandy’s introduction piqued my interest.
Rivera, 27, broke in to the Majors in 2016 impressively, hitting .333 with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs in 33 games. One of those home runs was a dramatic game-winning home run against Nationals closer Mark Melancon which kept the Mets in the hunt for the Wild Card. He played 26 games at second base where he had a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage.
T.J. Rivera will certainly be a huge part of the 2017 Mets. His .333 avg was no fluke, as since 2011 he has a stellar .324 career Minor League batting average. However, playing an important role is a lot different than being the starting second baseman.
After Rivera spoke to his alma-mater’s student athletes, he said to Kristie Ackert of the Daily News, “I have to approach the offseason the same way I did when I was working through the minors. I can’t take anything for granted. I have to work as hard as I did every other offseason and just hope I get that chance again.”
If the Mets don’t make any moves, Rivera, Wilmer Flores, and Jose Reyes would probably split time at second base (Reyes could play second when David Wright is at third base). However, the re-signing of Neil Walker or another acquisition would make the battle for second base all the more interesting.
“I think it will be a matter of a bunch of guys playing for an opportunity there this spring,” Rivera predicted. “I haven’t spoken to anybody about it or anything, but I am going into spring with that in my mind.”
