Those solutions are also not the simplest.
Even baseball’s best-built teams have serious roster issues. It affects everyone equally. The New York Mets of 2024 don’t appear to be prepared to win a championship quickly either. There will be many challenges ahead with a roster full of returning players and some riskier additions.
These three difficult roster queries may arise before we would like. It’s not as simple as that to solve.
1) If Brett Baty struggles, what would be the ideal scenario at third base?
To begin the season, third base was meant to be a little more open. Next came Ronny Mauricio’s ACL injury. The team’s strategy of letting the kids fight it out was severely disrupted by Brett Baty, who now seems unopposed.
It’s true that Mark Vientos has the potential to surprise us all by playing a better game in the spring. Even with his exceptional defensive skills, Joey Wendle might not be able to produce enough at bat to be preferred over Baty in the starting lineup.
The issue with Baty is that he had no success in 2023. He was not able to stay in the majors for the entire season because of his bat. Following a brief demotion, he resumed his previous role in the worst manner imaginable.
What would happen if Baty continued doing the same thing? Do the Mets allow Vientos to play every position and watch as his defense costs them? Or do they shift Wendle to the hot corner, where he will once more struggle with a.200 batting average?
Both for the team and for Baty individually, the upcoming year is significant. The backup plans don’t seem like very good options.
2) Should one of the anticipated starters be moved to the bullpen?
This offseason, the Mets added two starting pitchers whose abilities are in question. Luis Severino is trying to regain some of his former All-Star form after having a horrible season with the New York Yankees. Despite being far more productive than Severino during his prime, Sean Manaea was moved to the bullpen during the San Francisco Giants’ previous season despite his superior skill level. Adrian Houser is another, whose career has seen him alternate between the bullpen and the rotation multiple times.
If things go wrong, those three players—as well as Jose Quintana, for that matter—are strong candidates to be placed in the bullpen at some point. It never materialized despite a thought last year involving a pitcher like Carlos Carrasco, but it most likely would have if the team had purchased at the trade deadline rather than sold.
With their current roster, the Mets are better positioned to make such an acquisition, so this is hardly unprecedented. There is plenty of depth to start pitching. David Peterson and Tylor Megill will compete to remove someone when he gets back from the IL. Another duo that might surpass one of the more expensive predicted opening day starters is Jose Butto and Joey Lucchesi.
This is a difficult roster decision that requires consideration of both replacement options and timing. While you shouldn’t abandon a player too soon, you also shouldn’t put him through so much stress on the mound that neither his season nor yours are salvageable. Other than having more candidates than usual for a move like this, the Mets’ situation isn’t all that unusual.
3) Where in the lineup and on defense does Starling Marte belong?
Starling Marte, a player whose position on the team is far from clear, is one particular player about whom Mets fans are concerned. In an ideal world, he would have batted in the top half of the starting lineup and remained the starting right fielder this season. We’re questioning everything because of injuries and the team’s disappointing performance in year two.
Where is Marte’s defensive alignment? His place to lose will be right field. He should have enough opportunities to enter the lineup more frequently without having to worry about playing defense thanks to the open DH spot. If Tyrone Taylor is hitting sufficiently, ask DJ Stewart to get a glove, or let him go after a few extra balls.
The Mets’ potential lack of offensive production from Marte is even more concerning. For every player, a defensive decline is anticipated. The abrupt decline from 2022 to 2023 arrived far too soon. Last year, Marte didn’t perform like a player at the top of the lineup. Some lineup projections had him batting fifth or sixth, but it wasn’t even worth it.
Might Marte find himself dropped to the final two positions in the batting order? It may take some time, as a courtesy to him as a veteran. At some point, it might prove to be the right choice for the benefit of the Mets. Let’s just hope he’s not a DH batting ninth. That appears absurd.