FIRST & LONG

Yanks, Mets in similar spots with several options, but no guarantees

CARLSBAD, Calif. — First things first. That is if either New York team has a first. Do the Mets and Yankees possess multiple first-base options or none? Symbolically, Brodie Van Wagenen’s initial road excursion as Mets GM was to the Arizona Fall League to have a one-on-one di nner with Peter Alonso. Va n Wagenen then used his opening media scrum at the GM meetings to state that Alonso would be invited to spring training, receive plenty of at-bats and have a chance to win the first base job from the outset. Is he ready? Does he have competition? Is Dom Smith still a factor? Can the Mets live with Jay Bruce out of position regularly? Is Wilmer Flores even a stopgap? Van Wagenen said he is open-minded about improving the team from the outside in any way, when I asked him about first base. But his fixation is more on upgrading catcher, the bullpen and finding an athletic-type hitter who might be able to help in multiple places — all the better if that player excels on defense and limits strikeouts at the plate. Van Wagenen’s New York GM counterpart, Brian Cashman, also must contend with the question of whether he has two first basemen in Greg Bird and Luke Voit, one or none? If you would like to throw in the Yankees’ Bruce-ian outof-position option, Miguel Andujar has been discussed as a first-base alternative — Hal Steinbrenner said it to me as recently as last week. That could be an option if, for example, the Yankees signed Manny Machado, though I continue to believe a) the Yankees will diversify their money this offseason for several needs rather than one big splash and b) if they were even considering Machado his offseason, poor behavior in the postseason will certainly dim enthusiasm.

The Yankees’ analytics department saw an upside with Voit that perhaps wasn’t being appreciated in St. Louis. But even Cashman concedes the Yanks did not anticipate his 1.069 OPS after his acquisition or that he would tie Andujar and Giancarlo Stanton for the second-most homers in the AL (14) from Aug. 1 on or that he would be such a vital figure in assuring the Yankees earned home field for the wild-card game.

Now, the Yanks have to wonder whether that was a blip or is Voit the hitting version of Chad Green — a player undervalued by prospect pundits in his original organization who blossomed into a difference maker as a Yankee.

Yet, the Yankees need Bird even more. Didi Gregorius is going to miss at least a few months of the 2019 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery. That removes the best lefty bat from a lineup that leans distinctly right. In the past two spring trainings, the Yankees envisioned Bird hitting third to break up righties — remember, it was not long ago that Cashman was calling Bird the Yanks’ best hitting prospect. And it was not long ago, late in 2017 and the playoffs, that Bird was reminding of his potential impact.

But he continues to be unable to stay healthy, last year he hit just .199 with much of the pop abandoning his swing and lost his job to Voit. Neither player offers versatility, so can the Yanks carry a first-base platoon on a 25-man roster or does one have to win the job outright in spring with the other heading to the minors? Whoever emerges as the first baseman, the defense will not be good with Bird perhaps average and Voit less than that. This will be at a time when Andujar is still trying to become a more passable defender at third while the Yanks’ best defensive infielder, Gregorius, is out.

The Mets have been raving about how hard work has improved Alonso’s defense. Keep in mind, though, that has raised it from DH to something more tolerable. One major league official likened Alonso’s fielding skills to those of Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar, which is to say more acceptable if he hits 35 homers (as Aguilar did).

And Alonso has that kind of power having hit 36 homers in the minors in 2018. Is he ready to translate that now? Or do the Mets give Smith yet another chance? A lot of this will be determined by how the Mets emerge from the offseason.

If for example, they decide to go with Juan Lagares in center flanked by Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, then Bruce is a more likely alternative at first. But the Mets also could look to do a salary-for-salary swap involving Bruce.

It all plays into the likelihood that the New York teams will enter spring training with multiple first-base possibilities — or none.