|
Aaron Altherr is the third, and least successful, Met born in Germany. He seems like a likeable fellow, but he's at the bottom of a number of lists.
So yeah, he's the last guy on the roster, and not cutting it. Who do you bring in?
Syracuse Outfielders:
Gregor Blanco:
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]Still plays some centerfield (about half the time), although that may be just a product of the options.
[*]Plenty of experience in the bigs.
[*]Plenty of post-season experience.
[*]Bats lefty.
[*]Smokin' hot with eight hits in the last four days.[/list] [*]Downside:
[list][*]35 Years Old
[*]An indifferent .238 / .331 / .414 // .744 in AAA.[/list]
[/list]
=#4000FF]Rajai Davis:
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]Probably would have gotten the call instead of Altherr, but he was hurt at the time.
[*]Having a solid, if punch-and-judyish year in AAA, at .280 / .329 / .394 // .724
[*]Has played center more than a few times this year.
[*]Was a Pirate, so cooby must love him.
[*]Always good with the conditioning.
[*]Good smiler. His wife is too. With dimples and shit.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]He's 38, man.
[*]Just coming off the DL.
[*]Was merely functional as an MLB player. Was never particularly good, even in his prime.[/list] [/list]
Braxton Lee
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]This may be true about nothing else, but his dimple is big league. Better than Marissa Davis. He's got a Nimmo-esque full-grown-kiddishness about him that you can't help but be attracted to.
[*]He's from Norwich, CT, which is too far East to qualify him as local guy, but may well identify him as a Sox-loving Yankee-hater.
[*]Bats from the left side.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Only modest MLB experience, with no success.
[*]Will frequently get called "Broxton" by fans, in a conflation with Keon Broxton that will last decades. Folks will be surprised he's white.
[*]Kinda short, which shows up in his uninspiring power numbers.
[*]Having a shit year in AAA.[/list] [/list]
Rymer Liriano
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]Some MLB experience.
[*]Knows how to steal a base.
[*]Pinch-running is an assignment he's used to.
[*]Gets his walks.
[*]Built like a running back.
[*]Was a Midwest League MVP back in 2012.
[*]Name suggests he possibly speaks in verse.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Low average meh year in AAA.[/list] [/list]
Travis Taijeron
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]50,000 watts of power.
[*]Has been a AAA All-Star and a AAA Home Run Derby contestant.
[*]Has already gotten his Mets debut out of the way.
[*]Want to beat the Braves down the stretch? On September 27, 2017 Taijeron hit a ninth inning walk-off single against A.J. Minter of the Atlanta Braves. PRECEDENT!
[*]Gets a lot of walks.
[*]Good arm.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Strikes out more than Rick Moranis with Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters.
[*]Has only been intentionally walked twice in his career. NOT INTIMIDATING to pitchers.
[*]Something of a statue as an outfielder.[/list] [/list]
Syracuse Infielders (working from the perspective that with McNeil and Davis playing both infield and outfield, the two units are kind of overlapping and elastic):
Arismendy Alcantara
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]Not only plays center, but plays everywhere on the field.
[*]As the only Arismendy in MLB history, his presence would defy the longtime unspoken MLB ban on guys named Arismendy, give hope to Arismendys everywhere, and get the Mets a lot of good-guy press.
[*]Switch-hitter.
[*]Having a surprisingly good year in AAA. I shit you not. He's gone .303 / .364 / .528 // .892 in 72 games.
[*]Once hit 10 homers for the Cubs.
[*]Eight hits in last four games.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Very low MLB career batting average.
[*]The only-Arismendy thing is cool, but this is a pennant race here, not a social experiment.[/list] [/list]
Danny Espinosa
[list][*]Upside:
[list=][*]Lots of big league experience.
[*]Outstanding defense at second, third, and short.
[*]Wonderfully hirsute, capable of going from clean-shaven to full beard in four innings, would be the drainclogging-est Met since Joe Torre — sorry Bob Apodaca.
[*]Motivated to beat the Nats with extreme prejudice.
[*]Can steal a base.
[*]Eyebrows that score a 91 on the Josh Satin Index.
[*]OK year in AAA.
[*]Good power for a middle infielder.
[*]Gets hit by lots of pitches, endures pain thanks to his soft cushion of body hair[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Always seems sad.
[*]When he stinks with the bat, he stinks hard.
[*]Merely OK year in AAA.
[*]Signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in 2018, but was released relatively early in Spring Training — just enough time to pick up a Yankee taint, but short enough that one may be suspicious that the Yankees know something we do not.[/list] [/list]
Dilson Herrera
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]Slugging .522 in AAA — homers and doubles raining from the sky.
[*]He's hungry to finally catch that break he's been denied.
[*]Almost a hundred career minor league steals.
[*]A handsome mo-fo, sort of like a Dominican Jackie Robinson.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Small. S. M. All.
[*]A good candidate to get popped for PEDs.
[*]Only really plays second, although has faked it enough to play anywhere else.
[*]WHY can't he catch a break? WHAT don't we know?[/list] [/list]
Rubén Tejada
[list][*]Upside:
[list][*]Lots of big league experience.
[*]That includes post-season experience.
[*]Good on-base guy.
[*]Solid fielder at short and third, and if I remember correctly, better than solid at second.
[*]Had his destiny stolen from him by Chase Utley, and owes the world some payback.
[*]Has been hitting all year in the minors.
[*]Comfortable in a Mets uniform. Wasn't popular as a Met, but the unhappy end to his Mets career would definitely get fans behind him.
[*]Release of Adeiny Hecheverria has freed up his old uniform number.[/list]
[*]Downside:
[list][*]Survivor of a brutal leg breaking. Who knows what kind of range he has left?
[*]Had his motivation questioned occasionally in his earlier tenure with Mets.
[*]Not much for power.[/list] [/list]
Others to look at include current free agents and waiver wire residents, as well as recent releasees like Carlos Gomes and Adeiny H. But I've got to get some breakfast.
| 
