New York Mets: Five replacements for David Wright
The New York Mets will be without their captain for at least the next 6-8 weeks. How should they replace him?
The New York Mets have been through this before. A lack of offense and injuries threatened to derail their season just last year. Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright were injured. So what did they do? They brought up Michael Conforto, traded for Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and Yoenis Cespedes and then got Wright and d’Arnaud back and turned into the best offense in the NL in the second half.
The Mets are in a similar position this year. d’Arnaud and Wright are hurt again but this time so is Lucas Duda. The offense has been struggling to do anything other than hit homers and the Mets need some upgrades.
On top of his spinal stenosis, Wright now has a herniated disc in his neck. Wright won’t do anything for the next 6-8 weeks as they attempt to let his neck heal. The Mets are in the same position where they need to add bats. d’Arnaud is close to beginning a rehab assignment but we don’t know when Duda or Wright will come back.
The Mets will go with a combo of Wilmer Flores, Ty Kelly and Matt Reynolds at the hot corner. Flores could see time at first as well when they face lefties and don’t want James Loney to face them.
Even when/if Wright comes
Should the Mets go with this combo at third? There have to be other options right? Here are five options to replace Wright on the roster.
Next: The current replacement
Wilmer Flores
Flores will have first crack at replacing Wright and honestly, they should give him a shot. Flores has developed into a utility infielder with the ability to play all four spots. Flores has battled his own injury issues this season and between that and being on the bench has only appeared in 24 games this year.
Flores was the Mets starting shortstop last season and won his way into each and every Met fans’ hearts after the almost trade to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez last season. Flores was seen crying on the field after finding out he had been traded (even though he was never told officially). The trade fell through, luckily for the Mets, and Flores the next night hit a walk-off homer.
Flores last year was fifth among shortstops in homers, ninth in RBI, seventh in WRC+ and eighth in WAR. He had a higher WAR than Alcides Escobar, Elvis Andrus and Starlin Castro.
The Mets should give Flores first crack. I think with consistent playing time he can do a decent job and provide the Mets some more right-handed pop. For someone who is used to starting everyday, I think the adjustment to backup role was hard for him.
Next: The Prospect at another position
Met fans have heard about Dilson Herrera for forever it seems. Dilson came to the Mets from the Pirates back in 2013 in the Marlon Byrd/John Buck deal. Herrera is the Mets second baseman of the future, with the future being more than likely next season.
In AAA, he’s hitting .282 with an .802 OPS in 48 games. Again, he is a second baseman, so who plays third you ask?
The Mets could slide Neil Walker over to third base. Walker hasn’t played third since he came up in 2009 where he played nine games.
If Flores struggles, do the Mets then make themselves weaker defensively at two positions in order to try and get some more offense? If they can’t reach a deal to bring anyone from outside the organization in could they do this?
The answer is maybe. Of course, if the Mets still had Daniel Murphy, this would probably be the move they already made, but that’s a story for another day.
Next: The Veteran
One of the things that made the Mets so dangerous last season was the fact that they had so many guys who could play so many positions at any time. Once they got Johnson and Uribe, they could implement them all over and make the lineup deeper. They were also expiring contracts too.
In that same vein is Milwaukee infielder Aaron Hill. The 34 year old has been playing second and third base for the Brewers so far this season. He already has as many homers as he did last season with six and is hitting .273 with a .773 OPS which is his highest in three years.
Hill is making $12.5 million this year, but the D-backs are paying half of that thanks to their deal in the off-season.
Hill can give the Mets insurance at both positions like Uribe did last season. He’s a veteran stick and a guy who when he gets on a hot streak can really ignite an offense and drive in runs.
Next: The Ex-Met
Kelly Johnson
Hey it worked once right? Why not do it again? Kelly Johnson can play basically anywhere except centerfield. He was solid down the stretch last year for the Mets, hitting .250 with a .718 OPS. Johnson hasn’t been as good as he was last year, but going to a better situation with Mets may help that.
Johnson has 88 career games at third, but he can provide another bat off the bench as well. The Mets currently have Ty Kelly and Matt Reynolds as the backup infielders, and if you are a contending team, you can live with one of those guys as your backup, but probably not both.
Johnson wouldn’t have to play everyday, but the Mets would be able to not only play him at third, but move him around into a super utility kind of role, someone who can start and also give other players needed rest as we hit the middle of the season.
Johnson shouldn’t cost the Mets that much in a trade, probably even less than Hill would, but maybe the addition of Johnson would be enough to help the Mets out as they move toward a postseason run.
Next: The more expensive option
The mistake I think the Mets this past off-season was really not having a plan in case something happened to David Wright. They can’t really count on Wright at all ever again. He’s an injury waiting to happen. The Mets will more than likely see Yoenis Cespedes opt-out. Plus, if Wright is out for 60 days insurance picks up the contract. They also recently got a break on their Madoff payments.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
The point is maybe they can spend a little more money and protect themselves moving forward. The Twins are way out of it and need a bit of everything. They are better off ending their experiment of playing Miguel Sano in right, and when he returns off the DL, they can put him back at third.
Trevor Plouffe would make some sense for the Mets. He’s a little more expensive and under team control until 2018, but has right-handed pop and can play all the corners.
He’s a guy who just last year hit 22 homers and has driven in over 80 runs each of the past two seasons. He’ll cost the most in terms of assets to give up, but I think it’s something the Mets should at least consider.
Next: Tim Linceum's comeback begins
My guess is that Flores becomes the guy at third and they add Johnson before the deadline to give them some extra depth.