Mets injuries really hurt ’em
If it felt like your team was the most injured in baseball the last few years, Mets fans, well, you are wrong. Over the last eight seasons, the Dodgers, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox and A’s all had more games missed by injured players than the Mets, according to the website mangameslost.com.
But if you feel like the Mets were one of the teams more affected by injuries, well, you are right.
According to the website that tracks injuries in professional sports and their impact on those teams, the Rangers and Mets had the most significant impact from injuries in the last eight years. The site measure the potential Wins Above Replacement that teams suffer because of days and player on the disabled list.
The Mets’ WAR lost to injury over those eight seasons was 47.78, only behind the Rangers, whose lost WAR, was 55.93. On the opposite end of the spectrum? The 2016 World Series champion Cubs had the lowest WAR lost to injuries in that span. The 2017 World Series champ Astros were 21st out of the 30 teams.
So the Mets attempt to reorganize their medical, training and conditioning system this winter may have as big, or bigger impact, than any free agent they can go out and sign. With it unlikely that Sandy Alderson will have all of the $60 million coming off the 2017 Opening Day payroll to spend and holes at second base in the outfield, the bullpen and rotation that the GM wants to address, getting — and keeping — the players they had on the disabled list in 2017 healthy for 2018 may be the best way for the Mets to improve their team.
The Mets have six starting pitchers on the disabled list at one point in 2017. Closer Jeurys Familia missed three months to injury. Slugger Yoenis Cespedes, in the first year of a $110 million, four-year deal, played just 81 games because of injuries. David Wright never got on the field as he battled back from a neck injury then shoulder and back surgery.
The Mets began the shake-up with the firing of long time head trainer Ray Ramirez after the 2017 season, but Alderson was adamant that controversial trainer Mike Barwis would remain as a consultant to the team.
“As I stated over the course of the season, we’ve been reviewing our medical, training/therapy/strength and conditioning approach. I think I have mentioned since sometime midseason I’ve been meeting with our entire training staff and our attending physicians and physician fellows. Given that experience on a roughly day-to-day basis through the course of the season. I’ve had a chance to look at our personnel and the way in which our personnel interact in the department as well as with other departments, the baseball operations staff, the field staff, etc.,” Alderson said last month. “From my standpoint, the most important thing for us to do is reorganize and restructure. We looked at each individual in that context. I am very pleased with almost everyone in the department. But the issue of Mike Barwis continues to be mentioned. I think there is a strong misconception about what Barwis does and doesn’t do. He is an asset to us and to our physicians and to our training staff and to our players.
“That is true of the physicians we have and surgeons. Each of those individual elements has been looked at, there have been conversations. I am very comfortable in the direction we are going,” Alderson said.
The Met GM told people in the organization that after the daily meetings last season, going forward the key to more efficient training and medical treatment will be better communication from the front office to the training room and consistency.
The Mets will need to add players to try to shore up holes at second base, center field and in the bullpen and rotation.
With the Mets already talking about a limited budget, adding to the training and medical staff could have an even bigger impact though. GETTY