Ever since the days of Edgardo Alfonso, the New York Mets have struggled to find a premier contributor that can play the position of second base.
Whether it be the failed free agent signings of guys like Roberto Alomar and Kaz Matsui, or one-dimensional players like Daniel Murphy, the Mets have failed to feature the top second baseman in the NL East for some time.
For a long time, the position was dominated in the division by Chase Utley, who somehow found a way to be more hated by Mets fans for his dirty slid as a Dodger in the 2015 NLDS, then in his decade-plus torturing New York with the Phillies.
Now years later, it is time to take a look at the current landscape of second basemen in the NL East. Here are the rankings of teams with the best players at second base going into the 2020 season.
5. Miami Marlins
The starting second baseman for the Miami Marlins looks to be newcomer Jonathan Villar, who spent last season with the Baltimore Orioles. He was brought in to replace Starlin Castro, who signed with the Washington Nationals in free agency.
In 2019, Villar hit .274/.339/.453, producing a .792 OPS. The 28-year-old was particularly good when he made contact, hitting .341 on balls in play. While his bat was great, Villar’s defense was absolutely horrendous last season, as he made eight errors and had a -4.6 UZR.
With Villar’s versatility to play all over the diamond, the position could also fall into the hands of former top prospect Isan Diaz. The 23-year-old made his debut last year and started 47 games at the position for the Marlins. Diaz struggled at the plate during those games, hitting .173 with a 53 WRC+. He also made nine errors in just 48 games played overall, resulting in a -4.7 UZR.
Diaz has a lot to prove and won’t be handed any at-bats until he produces. Look to see him get in there for a start every once in a while, if Villar needs a rest.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
Last year, Cesar Hernandez was the starting second baseman in 157 games for the Philadelphia Phillies. However this offseason, Hernandez was surprisingly non-tenured by the club and later signed with the Cleveland Indians.
The Phillies addressed their need for an infielder in free agency by signing Didi Gregorius to a one-year deal, $14 million deal. Gregorius figures to become Philadelphia’s starting shortstop, leaving Scott Kingery and Jean Segura to fill out the infield at second and third base.
In 2019, Kingery played 10 games at second and posted a -0.3 UZR during those games. He also hit .258/.315/.474 across the season and was slightly above average in WRC+ at 101.
On the other hand, we know Segura can play second as he was the starting second baseman for the Diamondbacks in 2016. He wasn’t exactly the best fielder though, posting a -2.2 UZR during that time, and he hasn’t played the position since. But with a new shortstop in town, he may be forced to play second 2020.
Hitting hasn’t been a problem for Segura, who hit .280/.323/.420 in 2019, with a 2.2 WAR. The question for the Phillies is who gets more time at the position, and what bench depth do they have behind them. That is why they are ranked fourth on this list.
3. Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals have a similar approach at second as they do at first. Two veterans field the position, but in this scenario both are more productive.
The first of which being 29-year-old Starlin Castro, whom the team picked up on a two-year contract after his time down in Miami expired.
In 2019, Castro hit .270/.300/.436, with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs. Still, that was a down year for the 10-year veteran, although he has bounced back before.
Back in 2016, he hit .270/.300/.433 with the Yankees, and his WRC+ dropped below average to 93. He then returned the next year and his WRC+ slingshot up to 111. Still in the prime of his career, Castro could bounce back for a close to .300 year in 2020.
In the field, Castro has improved. He started off horrendously at second base in 2015 with the Cubs, before establishing himself at the position with the Yankees. Castro now is serviceable with a slightly positive UZR.
Behind Castro is a veteran leader and postseason hero, NLCS MVP Howie Kendrick. Kendrick had quite the season in 2019, posting a .344/.395/.572 slash line over 370 plate appearances. He also more than quadrupled his home run total from 2018, hitting 17 last year.
Kendrick did play most of his games at first last season, but will likely play more second base this year.
2. New York Mets
Second and third were a toss-up, but I’m going to give the upper hand to the New York Mets solely because of the amount of depth the team has at the position. Robinson Cano had the worst season of his career in 2019, but Cano is still only a year removed from being a .300 hitter. His age is concerning, but let’s take a look at the stats.
Cano’s BB% fell roughly three points to 5.9% while his K% rose to 16.3%. Long story short, Cano was not seeing the ball as well as in years past. Granted, this could be due to the aging process, but I like to think that Cano has been working on this throughout the offseason. He was hitting .300 with an OPS nearing .750 this spring before it was cut short.
Also let’s not forget that Cano dealt with his fair share of nagging injuries in the first half last season and came on to finish his initial Mets’ campaign strong. Across 42 games played in the second half, Cano hit .284/.339/.541, with nine home runs and 21 RBIs.
Considering the fact that 2019 All-Star Jeff McNeil is a jack-of-all trades, he could always step in and play second base in a pinch. If Cano severely underperforms or gets hurt, he is the perfect man to slide into the second-base position. Offensively, we all know what McNeil can do.
In his first full season, McNeil hit .318/.384/.531, with 23 home runs and a .915 OPS. At second base, McNeil is tolerable. He isn’t the perfect defender, but he is in the slight positives in UZR, and was better than Cano who posted a -0.8. Still, McNeil likely figures to play third base everyday, unless injuries force him to move around the diamond.
1. Atlanta Braves
After the Atlanta Braves somehow convinced All-Star second basemen Ozzie Albies to sign a seven-year, $35 million contract extension, the team looks poised to control the title for best second basemen in the division for a lengthy future.
Albies played all but two games in 2019, hitting a hair below .300 with an OPS of .852. His 117 WRC+ was the third-best mark among all second baseman and the guy has put up a combined 10.3 WAR over his first three seasons. Almost half of that came in 2019, a year he destroyed the competition for 4.6 total WAR.
Albies is as good on the diamond as he is at the plate. He posted a career low 2.2 UZR in 2019, after fielding for an elite 6.7 UZR the year prior.
If the worst-case scenario were to occur for the Braves, and Albies misses considerable time, they have the reliable veteran Adeiny Hechavarria to slot in. After being DFA’d by the Mets last August, Hechavarria joined the Braves for the stretch-run. He later signed a one-year deal to remain in Atlanta this offseason.
Across his time with both clubs in 2019, Hechavarria produced a .742 OPS, which is very solid for a utility infielder off the bench. His diversity in positions around the diamond is valuable but expect to see some of him at second if Albies were to miss time.
