With the news that the Padres are “aggressively shopping” third baseman Yangervis Solarte, many teams have been described as “potential landing spots” for the versatile infielder. Are the Mets one of those teams?
Solarte, 29, has made a name for himself as a utility infielder, having played every infield position as well as some left field in his career. He also provides solid offense, as in 2016 he hit .286/.341/.467 with 15 home runs and 71 RBIs.
He is obviously a valuable player, so to determine if the Mets are a potential landing spot for him, the discussion must be steered toward the Mets current situation, not Solarte himself.
Despite his ability to play almost anywhere (but still not as many positions as “Super” Joe McEwing), his best position is third base. The Mets have that position pretty much filled for 2017 as they have David Wright and Jose Reyes to split time at the hot corner. They also have Wilmer Flores if they really needed him, so if they were to trade for Solarte, it wouldn’t be for third base.
Solarte’s second best position is, well, second. The Mets have Neil Walker who was phenomenal for them in 2016 before being lost to back surgery late in the season. On days that Neil Walker has off, David Wright could play third base and Jose Reyes could theoretically slide over to second base, where he hasn’t played since that whole Kazuo Matsui thing in 2004. Wilmer Flores can obviously play second base as well, arguably his best position.
The Mets are going into 2017 with every starting infield position filled with strong depth that stretches into the Minor Leagues with T.J. Rivera. Because of this, I don’t see the Mets giving up as much as other teams who really need a second or third baseman (i.e. Dodgers or Brewers). However, that doesn’t mean the Mets don’t have a prospect the Padres are particularly interested in.
He is an every day-caliber player and that just wouldn’t happen if he was a Met.
Do you think the Mets should pursue Yangervis Solarte? Comment below.
