New York Mets still don’t seem to see the value of stealing bases
By Tim Boyle
Once again, the New York Mets will open the MLB season with one of the slowest teams in baseball. Will it hold them back?
The New York Mets went into this offseason minus a clear mission in place. Would they continue to dismantle the roster or make a serious push at winning again?
The Mets ended up going with the latter, although some can argue they haven’t gone full-fledged “win now” mode. Still, in a tortoise-like offseason, they have been one of the more active organizations.
New York Mets Moves
By reacquiring Jay Bruce and also adding third baseman Todd Frazier, the New York Mets filled two primary needs. Additionally, the low-risk and high-reward signing of Adrian Gonzalez gave them yet another option at first base. The pressure is on future first baseman Dominic Smith to win the job.
All reasonable additions, those three have something in common: they are slow. Even a pair of PF Flyers won’t help them steal more than a handful of bases or go from first to third on a single.
The Mets were already one of baseball’s slowest teams. Last year, only Jose Reyes reached double-digits in stolen bases. The veteran infielder managed to swipe 24 bags for the Mets in an otherwise slow-moving campaign.
Bruce, Frazier, and Gonzalez are on the wrong side of thirty and unlikely to combine for ten stolen bases. Bruce stole one with the Cleveland Indians last year. Frazier settled for four during his time with the Chicago White Sox. Gonzalez, the oldest of the three, has only six stolen bases in his entire MLB career.
Where will the New York Mets get their SBs?
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The New York Mets will have to look elsewhere for stolen bases. Amed Rosario did steal seven in limited action. Center fielder Juan Lagares did the same but in far more opportunities. New York cannot trust him to swipe too much more than he did last year.
Reyes’ return will help them in the stolen base department. However, his role has changed. Reyes led the Mets with 561 plate appearances last year. As the team’s utility man in 2018, he’s not going to reach that same number again.
Meanwhile, in other cities within the National League East, the Mets’ biggest rivals are relying heavily on speed. The Washington Nationals are one of baseball’s faster teams with Trea Turner expected to put up some fantastic stolen base numbers. Prospect Victor Robles will add to the fun when he finally reaches the big leagues.
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Employing a roster full of large, lumbering players may work for the Mets if the power numbers are consistent. It’s those games when the wind is playing inward, and the rain is knocking the ball out of the sky that may cause the most trouble for the not-so-fleet-footed Mets.