After the Yoenis Cespedes trade was made official, the Mets had to make room for him on the 40 man roster. The decision came down to Darrell Ceciliani and Eric Campbell. Much to the chagrin of many Mets fans, Ceciliani was cut from the roster, and Campbell remained on the 40 man roster. It seems that Campbell has more lives than that black cat that crossed the path of the ’69 Cubs.
I understand where Mets fans are coming from with their dislike of Campbell. Both he and John Mayberry, Jr. became symbolic of the ineptitude of the Mets offense during the months of May through July when the team struggled to score runs. However, that wasn’t Campbell’s fault per se. It was the Mets’ fault for not only being forced to play him everyday, but also batting him in the middle of the lineup.
Look, Campbell is a useful, hard working player that is doing everything he can to be a big league player. Last year, he began working to develop himself into an emergency catcher. In his short major league career, he has played every position except pitcher, catcher, and center field. He has come through for the Mets many times in a pinch.
His main problem is that he gets overexposed once he gets extended playing time. That’s true for anyone who is best suited to being a bench player. In his career, Campbell has accumulated a -0.1 WAR. His OPS+ is 84. His wRC+ is 88. These are ugly numbers which explain his .231/.317/.328 stat line. However, no matter how much Mets fans believe otherwise, there is some hope for Campbell.
Last year, his BABIP was an almost unrealistically low .230. The league average for BABIP is .300, which suggests Campbell would be in line to improve those 2015 statistics. There is hope he can increase his BABIP because Campbell was hitting the ball hard last year, but apparently he was hitting it at people.
There’s also the fact that Campbell has been an effective pinch hitter. In his 54 pinch hitting appearances, Campbell has hit .293/.426/.390. In what was a bad year for him, he still was able to have a positive impact as a pinch hitter with some key pinch hits that gave the Mets late leads in games.
So overall, it appears that Campbell can be a useful player if he’s properly utilized. Last year’s injuries prevented that. Now, he’s where he belongs. He’s in AAA waiting to be called up in case someone gets injured. When that time comes, and you know someone will get injured, there’s a very good chance it’s Campbell who is called up because he’s the only man on the 40 man roster with experience and a good track record for being a bench and utility player.
Ultimately, that’s why Sandy Alderson opted to keep Campbell and why he’s still here. The Mets see a player who should not have as much bad luck as he did last year. He’s a guy who fits into the Mets concept of having versatile bench players. Overall, the Mets see a player that is much better than what some fans may believe.
