Third Base Remains a Major Concern For Mets as Trade Deadline Approaches

Looking to improve the left side of the infield over the offseason, the New York Mets acquired shortstop Francisco Lindor in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Indians and the front office also attempted to bring in an impact third baseman, but unfortunately, their efforts ultimately proved ineffective.

With management unable to make an upgrade at the hot corner, infielders J.D. Davis and Luis Guillorme entered this season competing for the starting third base position, allowing each of them to showcase their talents early on. While this duo was effective through the first month of the campaign, they both headed to the injured list near the end of April, leaving the Mets exposed on the left side of the diamond.

Since Davis (hand) and Guillorme (oblique) were both slated to miss extended time, the coaching staff was extremely concerned about the type of production, or lack of it, they’d receive from the third position moving forward. Luckily, veteran Jonathan Villar, who signed a one-year, $3.55 million deal last winter, took full advantage of this unexpected opportunity and has since emerged as a fairly productive hitter in 2021.

Despite posting a -0.3 fWAR rating last season – his lowest rating since 2017 – Villar has quickly put those woes behind him and has performed as an above-average batter, resulting in 10 doubles, six home runs, 15 RBIs, a .164 ISO, a .307 BABIP, a .323 wOBA, a .320 xwOBA (career-best), a 10.6% walk rate, a 24.0% strikeout rate, a 109 wRC+ score, a 0.9 fWAR rating and a slashing line of .246/.333/.410/.743 over his 208 plate appearances.

Hitting a major roadblock last month, the 30-year-old suffered a calf injury and was retroactively placed on the 10-day IL back on Jun. 22. But thankfully, Guillorme returned from his oblique injury on Jun. 11 and has recently taken over the starting role at third base, which he was in line to accomplish before suffering his injury.

Considering the 26-year-old missed a significant amount of time, no one was expecting him to hit the ground running shortly after his activation, however, he’s been extremely ineffective at the plate ever since returning to the lineup.

Failing to hit for power or quality contact, Guillorme has produced just one extra-base hit, one RBI, a .018 ISO, a .273 BABIP, a .275 wOBA, a 58.1% GB rate, a 24.4% hard-hit rate, an 84.6 mph average exit velocity, a 77 wRC+ score and a miserable slashing line of .218/.358/.236/.595 over his last 68 plate appearances.

Though the Mets weren’t required to hit the panic button when Villar served as the everyday third baseman, as he provided them respectable offensive results, this team might not be able to echo that same level of patience if Guillorme’s struggles continue. Adding another layer to this situation, neither of these two players have enjoyed much defensive success this season, making this current dilemma even more concerning.

Starting with the former 10th-round selection, he’s compiled a career-high 135 1/3 innings at third base, creating a -3 DRS (career-worst), -1 OAA, -0.2 RngR, -0.8 ErrR, -1.0 UZR, -37.4 UZR/150 and a -0.8 defensive WAR rating.

As for Villar, the former Baltimore Oriole has totaled a career-high 362 2/3 innings at the hot corner, generating a -1 DRS, -2 OAA, 0.4 RngR, -2.6 ErrR, -1.9 UZR, -16.4 UZR/150 and a -1.3 defensive WAR rating.

Due to these troubling defensive results from Guillorme and Villar, the Mets’ third base defense currently ranks near the bottom in several different categories, as they currently own the worst ErrR (-4.9) and UZR/150 (19.8), are tied for the fourth-fewest DRS (-7) and have recorded the fifth-lowest UZR (-3.8) and defensive WAR rating (-2.6) among all 30 teams in the majors, according to FanGraphs.com.

In addition, this club is also tied for the sixth-worst OAA (-5) in the majors, according to BaseballSavant.com.

Assuming Davis doesn’t endure another setback during his current rehab assignment in triple-A Syracuse, the power-slugging third baseman could return to New York’s lineup in the near future, which could help this team breakout offensively. But since the 28-year-old has posted a -6 OAA since 2020, he likely won’t be able to help improve the overall defense at the hot corner.

Taking into account these factors, it’d be foolish if the front office didn’t continue its search for an impact third baseman at this month’s trade deadline, which will take place on Jun. 30. While management reportedly inquired about Chicago Cubs’ third baseman, Kris Bryant, over the winter, they’re currently competing for first place in the NL Central Division and are unlikely to become sellers.

With Bryant seemingly unavailable, other trade targets could potentially include Josh Donaldson, Kyle Seager, Joey Gallo or Eduardo Escobar, who’s already been linked to the Chicago White Sox a couple of times this season. Given that this organization has surrendered a number of top prospects over the past few years, it remains to be seen how willing they’d be to make a big splash in the coming weeks.

Since the Texas Rangers will likely demand an extremely high price for Gallo, who’s recorded a 3.1 fWAR rating in 2021 and will be a free agent after next season, that could take the Mets out of the running for his services. Considering this team’s offense already features plenty of left-handed hitters, it wouldn’t make much sense to target Seager either, who also hits from the left side.

Searching for a right-handed bat, Donaldson would be a solid fit for the Mets, especially since he’s created 13 home runs, 34 RBIs, a .236 ISO, a 123 wRC+ score, a 1.3 fWAR rating and a slashing line of .250/.345/.486/.831 through 252 plate appearances this season. As for his defense, his production at third base has slightly declined over the last few seasons, although he’s only two years removed from the 11 OAA he posted in 2019.

Without question, taking on the remaining two years of the 2015 American League MVP’s contract, which will pay him $42 million and also features a $16 million club option in 2024, would be less than ideal but it’d probably reduce the acquisition cost that’d be heading to the Minnesota Twins.

If the Mets aren’t on board with paying Donaldson’s expensive salary, they could circle back to a much cheaper option like Escobar, who’s slated to become a free agent this winter. Based on his 17 home runs, 53 RBIs, .217 ISO, 1,4 fWAR rating and 1 OAA at third base this season, the switch-hitting infielder could definitely make a strong contribution to this club through the final two months of the campaign.

Since the calendar just turned to July, any potential trade that could address this third base situation is probably still at least a few weeks away and might not get resolved until closer to the actual trade deadline. Though there’s no guarantee management will be able to land any of the players listed above, there’s no doubt they’ll exhaust every resource in hopes of improving this roster.

While the Mets are only leading the NL East division by a slim margin, a couple of impactful moves before July 30 could help put them over the top and also significantly increase their chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.