At the press conference on Wednesday, re-introducing Yoenis Cespedes to the masses to make his new contract official, the issue of what Alejandro De Aza‘s role will be came up when Sandy Alderson spoke to reporters afterward. Naturally, he’s expected to be on the bench ready, willing, and able to play all three outfield positions. But perhaps, that is jumping the gun a bit:
https://twitter.com/jareddiamond/status/694964819003359232
This really just confirms what every Mets fan thought when De Aza came aboard. De Aza signed with the Mets to share center field duties with Juan Lagares, mostly because Sandy Alderson admittedly didn’t believe they would be able to sign Cespedes. Yet, somehow, Cespedes’ strong desire to remain with the Mets changed everything and the stars aligned for both sides to get a deal done, essentially relegating Lagares and De Aza to 4th and 5th outfielder roles.
Now, we are not privy to what, if any, promises were made to De Aza. We do know at the time De Aza was signed to his $5.75 million deal, at worst he would serve as the team’s fourth outfielder, but it was far more likely he was going to have a legitimate shot to get the bulk of the at-bats in center field. Now, he’s the team’s fifth outfielder. I’m sure he’s not happy with being pushed down the depth chart without even playing one game, especially when he could’ve signed elsewhere.
Now, De Aza can’t be traded until June 15th unless he consents to a deal, which he very well might. While every player wants to win, every player also wants to play. Right now, De Aza’s at-bats will be few and far between as he’s the left-handed option off the bench, and our corner outfielders both hit left-handed as well. He could be buried on the bench for a while. It’s not exactly an exciting proposition for a 31 year old utility outfielder.
So yes, we understand why De Aza would want to be traded, but why would the Mets want to trade him? With the Brandon Nimmo injury and the Darrell Ceciliani trade, De Aza is it when it comes to organizational center field depth. Well, there are a few good reasons.
First, De Aza may not be happy on the bench for long stretches, especially after he signed believing that he could be a starter with the Mets. Could that grow into a bigger concern once the season begins? No, I’m not suggesting De Aza is a bad guy. Rather, I’m saying any player not getting sufficient playing time is an issue that could eventually come to a head.
On the plus side Terry Collins has always had a good grasp of running the clubhouse and he handled the Michael Cuddyer situation quite well when the veteran lost his everyday job to Michael Conforto.
Another reason you trade De Aza now is this might be the time when he has the most value. As teams look to fill out their rosters for Spring Training and/or the regular season, De Aza may be a very attractive option. The Mets aren’t likely to get much in return, but whatever they do get is most likely to be better than what they get around the trade deadline.
And who knows, maybe after they deal De Aza, they can fill his roster spot with a right-handed bat who can play the corner outfield and first base – that was the plan before the Mets signed Cespedes. A power bat to spell Granderson or Duda against left-handed pitching.
Whether or not the Mets trade De Aza, we should be able to agree on one thing. De Aza is here because the Mets never expected Cespedes to be here. Now the Mets need to find playing time for FIVE major league caliber outfielders.
This really is a nice problem to have especially when you think back to a few years ago when the Mets general manager famously quipped, “Outfield? What outfield?” Sometimes, it’s not so bad when a plan doesn’t come together.
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