Amazin’s deny delaying Amed due to turmoil
Maybe baseball isn’t at the forefront of why Amed Rosario remains in Las Vegas. Possibly, the Mets are keeping him in the minor leagues to avoid turmoil.
According to a report in the Bergen Record, the Mets and general manager Sandy Alderson are keeping the top-flight shortstop prospect in Triple-A for the time being because of infielder Asdrubal Cabrera’s continued disappointment over being moved to second base and don’t want to open him up to a clubhouse with issues.
“That’s the first time I heard something like that,” manager Terry Collins said following the Mets’ ugly 13-4 loss to the Rockies. “That’s kind of news to me.”
Cabrera, who demanded a trade June 23 but rescinded that demand a few days later, and Collins both said they believe the clubhouse is fine and are unaware of it as the reason for Rosario remaining in Triple-A, where the 21-yearold has posted a .328/.367/.475 slash line with an .842 OPS. Collins said it has not come up in discussions with Alderson.
“I got nothing to be [mad] about [with] Amed,” Cabrera said. “That’s not my choice [when he comes up].”
Since the move to second base June 23, Cabrera has performed solidly in the field and is batting .250 (16-for-64) with two home runs and nine RBIs. When asked if he still would prefer to be at shortstop, where he struggled, Cabrera said: “I’m [playing] second base right now. That’s my position. I forgot everything about shortstop. I’m fine. I’m playing second base. What do you want to know? That happened a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been playing second base three, four weeks.”
Alderson hinted at the issue Friday, when asked if the composition of veterans on the roster could be a deterrent to bringing up young players.
“Right now, I don’t think it’s the right time and you bring up the question of the clubhouse and playing time for everybody,” the general manager said, speaking specifically of Rosario and first-base prospect Dominic Smith, both of whom are playing well at Triple-A Las Vegas. “Everybody has personal as well as collective goals, and those things all come into play.”
Though Jose Reyes and Rosario have a relationship and speak frequently, Cabrera said he hasn’t talked to Rosario since spring training. The veteran said he was impressed by the young shortstop’s ability in Florida. “Pretty good player,” Cabrera said. Rosario didn’t do himself any favors Friday by sending out a post on Twitter about his desire to join the big league club, along with a photo of himself kneeling at the Futures Game.
“On my knees and I Just want to propose to Queens — NY that is,” Rosario wrote. “AR = Amed is Ready #Facts #DontBeSurprisedBeReady”. The post quickly was deleted. “I talked to him about that after the game [Friday],” Reyes said. “He was very down about that. I said, ‘ You have to be careful what you post on social media because this is New York. I know you don’t do it on purpose. People here are going to take it the wrong way. Just stay away from that.’ ”