The acquisitions of Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson and particularly Yoenis Cespedes proved crucial in sparking the Mets late-July turnaround. Cespedes, a multi-tool talent in the outfield, has performed so well, his name is being mentioned in MVP discussions despite just playing in just 36 National League games. Johnson and Uribe, in addition to their veteran presence, have contributed a number of timely hits and have been key pieces for Terry Collins to rotate around the infield.
These three deadline additions weren’t the only shot in the proverbial arm that has enabled these thrilling seven weeks of Mets baseball.
Travis d’Arnaud returned from injury on July 31 and has hit the cover off the ball ever since. In fact, d’Arnaud’s .954 OPS since the trade deadline is the highest of any Met with the exception of Cespedes during that period. The Mets are 32-16 when d’Arnaud is starting behind the dish, compared to 46-45 when he is not.
His performance at the plate in the last 30 days has rivaled some of baseball’s best. Over the last 30 days, d’Arnaud’s OPS ranks 6th in the National League, Cespedes is third. If his 11 homers and 37 RBIs in 49 games in 2015 were extended to a full season for a catcher (let’s say 130 games), d’Arnaud would have 29 homers and 98 RBIs and likely in more realistic talks for NL MVP.
Rookie Michael Conforto, as well as Johnson and Uribe, played their first career games as a Met in the Dodgers series from July 24-26, widely seen as the beginning of the new-look offense in Queens. Since then, Conforto has dominated right-handed pitching, ripping six homers and 19 RBIs while posting a .950 OPS in just 101 at-bats. Now the other side of the platoon with Conforto, Michael Cuddyer has managed a mere .714 OPS in 264 at-bats vs. righties.
While much of the attention has pointed to Cespedes, and deservingly so, there have been a number of other bats that have changed the Mets offense from awful to awe-inspiring; foul to feared.
When this season is “in the books,” whether in the first week of October or the last, Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Conforto ought to be remembered as two core additions in the final week of July that helped the Mets turn the corner when the season looked like it was on the rocks, not just Cespedes.
