Abreu's is off the books, but Walker's contract stepped in its place as our underperforming first basemen.
I would not be shocked if the Mets put their nuts on the table and signed Tucker and tried to sign Bregman. The Mets seem like the best fit for Meyers. They need a placeholder for Benge. SS Lindor RF Soto 3B Bregman LF Tucker 1B Polanco C Alvarez DH Baty 2B Semien CF Meyers Bench: Mauricio, Torrens, Taylor, Vientos That’s a pretty sick lineup.
Keep Tucker and Bregman out of the East. This would help to move soto to LF. Who could we get from them for Meyers?
Nick Allen (assuming he makes the team) will fill the infield defensive void left by Dubon/Urias. He will be a zero at the plate, but it's not like Dubon/Urias were much better anyways.
Nick Allen has a career OPS of .536 and Urias is at .707. That’s a pretty massive difference. It’s like saying Paredes “isn’t much better” than Meyers at the plate.
Astros had spoken to them quite a bit earlier in the Winter and at that point Mets wouldn’t eat any money. If the Astros already had their #2 starter, he could have ended up in Houston.
Wouldn’t be shocked either - I still think they have a very good chance to end up with Valdez. The Mets ownership has the money and he doesn’t appear to be in this for the short term.
It’s hard to guess Meyers’ value. There appears to be a major premium on established big leaguers right now, but that might just be for bat-first players and pitchers, as defense-first guys like Dubon did not carry much value. It may be way overly optimistic but I would like somebody like OF/2B AJ Ewing who is NY’s #7 prospect, a former supplemental 1st rd pick who finished last season hitting well in AA. Getting back Ryan Clifford would also be a good get. Somebody like Jett Williams is probably too much to ask. Alternatively Houston could target one of their young graduated lefthanded bats in Vientos, Baty, or Mauricio. A disappointing outcome would be a lotto prospect like IF Trey Snyder.
Yeah bat war and Hr at that seems to be more valued than defensive and baserunning WAR. Is that because it is more valuable or because it’s sexier? I don’t know.
I think it’s just scarcity. Guys who can play really good SS and post an 80 wRC+ are everywhere (Zach Short), whereas there are only so many guys who can post a 120 wRC+ no matter what they can do on defense.
That is as bad defensively in the OF as any team in baseball. And Yordan ain’t making it through the season playing in the field every day
Alvarez is not actually bad defensively in LF. Hes slow, but that is more than made up for by Meyers’ elite range. Alvarez has a good arm and track the balls he can get to quite well. Sanchez is a below average fielder but only because of mental lapses; his tools are good. Regardless, this would only be Houston’s lineup for 30-40 games and in the playoffs, and even in those games Cole would come in as a late defensive replacement for Alvarez in any game Houston had a lead.
I have wondered if Bat WAR and HR are more valuable to title contenders, but defensive and baserunning WAR is cheaper and thus a better value to the rest of the league trying to get into wildcard spot or move from bad to above average. In the playoffs, there is a premium on lengthening your lineup with quality ABs. You know for sure that you’re facing the best pitching and you know for sure the ABs will come. You know if you stick a better bat into the lineup, that better bat will come to the plate. In contrast, since there are more Ks with elite pitchers, there are fewer batted balls in play for defensive WAR to matter. Likewise, there are fewer base runners for speed to matter. Also, batted balls in play involve a large element of luck - where they are hit and to whom. You really don’t KNOW that defensive WAR will come into play. Anyway, I’m sure all the MLB nerd caves have studied and measured this down to the dollar, pound, penny and deutchmark. I’m just spitballin.
