Is it too soon to call Juan Lagares a bust? As of now, that appears to be the call on the 5-year, $23-million the Mets gave to the flashy center fielder after his 2014 Gold Glove Award winning season.
He might get a pass because of a bad elbow that allowed base runners to take liberties on him. However, after a summer in which he regressed at the plate and balls were consistently hit over his head, he lost his starting job after the Yoenis Cespedes trade. Now the Mets go to the Winter Meetings with a plan of obtaining a center fielder to platoon with Lagares. What does that say?
We know the Mets won’t re-sign Cespedes or move Curtis Granderson to center. And, we also know Lagares has a lot of room for improvement at the plate and must stop his defensive regression if he’s to remain in the organization’s plans.
Working in Lagares’ favor is his age and the contract that will pay him $2.5 million in 2016. But then he will get $4.5 million in 2017, $6.5 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019. While that might not be a lot of money for a full time center fielder, it is far too much for a platoon player, and definitely a lot for late-inning defense.
The primary free-agent targets to platoon with the .259-hitting Lagares are Denard Span and Dexter Fowler, both of whom will command large salaries, and most likely would not accept a platoon situation. That leaves Gerardo Parra who is a corner outfielder, but the Mets already have Michael Conforto, Michael Cuddyer and Granderson. And, if you go further down the options to David Murphy and Will Venable, the Mets might as well stick with Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
Lagares, 27, has the Mets in a very awkward position. He has not played to the level they expected when they handed him that 5-year extension. A year ago Lagares was looked upon as the center fielder of the present as well as the future.
But much has changed in ten months and all the team can do at this point is hope for the best – even in his projected platoon role. The limitations of the market don’t give the Mets that ideal left-handed center fielder they really need to platoon with Lagares.
They’ll keep their fingers crossed and hope that Parra can capably handle center and be that guy, but nobody knows for sure. Still, it’s a risk worth taking because after Parra the other choices are not very ideal at all. Span and Fowler don’t see themselves as platoon guys and will want to get paid as starting center fielders rendering Lagares to a bench role and defensive replacement.
The Mets head to Nashville on Sunday for the start of the Winter Meetings. And while all eyes will be centered on Ben Zobrist and if the Mets did enough to convince him to come to Flushing for four years, solving center field is no less important. I wouldn’t be surprised if they fly back to New York on Thursday with Gerardo Parra signed, sealed and delivered. But getting back to Juan Lagares, nobody could have predicted a year ago that center field would be one of the top priorities for the Mets this offseason. It’s a disappointing turn of events.
