OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
Mets’ problems compounded by limited roster
AS THE Mets limp along, losing 10 of their past 13 games, their lack of depth has created a house-of-cards ballclub.
Take away a few vital assets, and it comes tumbling down.
Lack of depth, poor signings, bad defense and players coming up from the minors not being major league ready are the root cause to many of their issues now.
The Yankees have plugged holes at second, third, first and in the bullpen with tremendous talent, while many of the Mets backups’ have struggled.
The catching position has been a nightmare, with both Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki getting hurt. D’Arnaud has a history of injuries so if any position should have been fortified going into the season, it should have been catcher.
For the Mets to climb out of the hole they have dug after that 11-1 start, they will need to get much more significant contributions from players thrust into key positions.
Mets coaches were trying to teach Amed Rosario how to bunt the other day, some of the most basic bunting techniques that you might see in Instructional League.
Good for the coaches to address a problem. But this is something that should have been addressed before he ever got to the majors.
Rosario owns one stolen base, so clearly, with his speed, he hasn’t come close to figuring out how to steal bases, either. If Rosario can’t bunt and can’t steal bases, you have to wonder what he learned at Triple-A last season.
Meanwhile, when I talk to veterans like Neil Walker, Giancarlo Stanton and Brett Gardner over at the Yankees about their young players, all three used the term “polished young players.”
Some of that is the player possessing baseball instincts, but that gets back to scouting and then how players have learned through the minor leagues.
Rosario is just one small example of little things not being accomplished well, which contributes to a bigger problem.
As for another young Met, Michael Conforto, who is coming off shoulder surgery, he is batting .200. Perhaps the Mets underestimated just how difficult a surgery that is to come back from. Brandon Nimmo has been a solid fourth outfielder and Juan Lagares tried to add power this offseason, but has only two extra-base hits with no home runs. He is batting .339. Jay Bruce (three years, $39 million) is struggling with a .230 average and three home runs.
All this is compounded by the latest injury to Yoenis Cespedes (hip) and Todd Frazier’s hamstring issue. Backup infielder Jose Reyes is hitting .143 with one RBI. Wilmer Flores is at .229 and remains limited defensively.
Overall, the Mets are 10th in hitting in the NL with a .236 average, 12th in OPS with a .697 mark, but here is the killer, they are 13th in runs scored (166) with only the tanking Padres and Marlins worse.
Sandy Alderson and the Mets thought they were adding serious bullpen depth with the signing of Anthony Swarzak to a two-year deal worth $14 million this winter. Swarzak has pitched 2 ¹/3 innings because of an oblique injury. That has greatly weakened the bullpen and kept Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo in the bullpen.
Compound that with the freeagent signing of lefty starter Jason Vargas (13.86 ERA), who was slowed by a fractured bone in his glove hand, for two years at $16 million and these critical pitching signings have been pretty much useless so far, free-agent misses. Then there is AJ Ramos and his 5.17 ERA.
All this eats away at a team’s depth, and when the Mets were hit by a tsunami of misfortune, deals that have not worked out look even worse.
Mickey Callaway has been limited to one lefty in the bullpen in Jerry Blevins. After appearing in 158 games the previous two seasons, Blevins has struggled to the tune of a 5.63 ERA.
The Mets are 20-19 overall and 8-11 at home.
For the Mets, underperformance, questionable signings and depth issues are making it tough for them to survive anywhere.