The Mets parted ways with two more veterans on Saturday in their attempts to “retool” for the 2018 season.
Over the last month, the Mets have slowly but surely shipped away its core guys to open the door for the youngsters to show what they’ve got the last month plus of the year.
For Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith, it’s almost a lock they will be two of the four starting Mets infielders next year.
But for guys like Kevin Plawecki, Brandon Nimmo and Saturday’s winning pitcher Rafael Montero, it’s a chance to make their respective cases to be a part of the team going forward.
“Everybody that you ever talked to when he was in the minor leagues said, ‘This guy is going to hit,” Collins said of Plawecki. “[When we sent him down in May], I told him, ‘Go hit. Go put some big numbers up.’ And he did.”
“So I’m hoping that they translate here, and now he’s going to get a chance to see how it works up here,” he continued. “But we’re reaching the stage where Kevin Plawecki, this going to be his opportunity to show us that he’s here to stay.”
With catcher a glaring hole that needs to be filled this offseason with Travis d’Arnaud having an overall subpar year, Plawecki has a shot to show why he was a first round pick.
Montero, who has been the cat with nine lives this year, has now strung together two solid outings.
On Saturday, he fired six innings and yielded six hits on three walks, with five strikeouts and one earned run allowed.
The stuff has always been there for the righty, who was once considered a more valuable prospect than Jacob deGrom.
If he finally starts trusting what he’s got and working through the mental side of the game, the Mets patience with Montero may finally pay off.
Across the rest of the diamond, a true test will come in the form of what the Mets have with two former first rounders: The aforementioned Nimmo and infielder Gavin Cecchini.
Nimmo chipped in a hit and drew a walk in Saturday’s win, but Cecchini has yet to get a real shot at regular playing time. That may change in the coming weeks if Asdrubal Cabrera is moved.
While the Mets have some work to do prior to 2018, the team brass is hopeful that they will gain some clarity on some aspects of the team from now until the end of the season.
It will be exciting to see some new guys get a chance to prove themselves, a silver lining to a draining campaign.
