Bad Roster Construction

[Edgy MD]

Five infielders, five outfielders, and a full-time DH is not working.

Mendoza doesn't like Baty up in key late-game situations against lefthanders. I could dispute that in general, but most importantly with regard to the roster, Carlos is using two guys, from an already short bench, to replace one. They send Taylor up for Baty and then put in Wendle. So you lose Baty in the seventh or eighth, you take your best reserve outfielder's glove out of the game, you take your best reserve baserunner's legs out of the game, and then maybe you get Wendle up in a game situation in the ninth or tenth, in this case against an even tougher lefty that he couldn't even bunt to a wide-open right side against.

I like Taylor, but had that been Vientos on the roster instead of him, Mark gets the pinch-hit assignment, and if he doesn't come through then, he gets another crack in the 10th against Alvarado, instead of the pile of lefties we were sending up there, trying to swing with the ball coming at them from behind their right ears. If they have Vientos and Taylor, they have the first one up instead of Wendle in the 10th, and the second one available to pinch-run.

A much stronger look.

So yeah, this roster needs Vientos, but JD Martinez and DJ Stewart and Tyrone Taylor (despite Mendoza's neglect) have all justified their presence with their bats as well as anybody. The ones who aren't justifying their presence right now — Joey Wendle and the apparently doghoused Omar Narváez — are the lone backup at positions that nobody else plays.

I'd say that the answer is bagging the five-man rotation, but that would almost certainly mean they add another reliever because that's what teams do, so I don't know what the answer is, but I think maybe they should call up Vientos, but dress him in the uniform of whoever yesterday's starting pitcher was. That way he can be on the roster, doing his thing, but nobody will know it's him!

[Fman99]

Five infielders, five outfielders, and a full-time DH is not working.

Mendoza doesn't like Baty up in key late-game situations against lefthanders. I could dispute that in general, but most importantly with regard to the roster, Carlos is using two guys, from an already short bench, to replace one. They send Taylor up for Baty and then put in Wendle. So you lose Baty in the seventh or eighth, you take your best reserve outfielder's glove out of the game, you take your best reserve baserunner's legs out of the game, and then maybe you get Wendle up in a game situation in the ninth or tenth, in this case against an even tougher lefty that he couldn't even bunt to a wide-open right side against.

Yeah this whole thing is shitty. Let Baty hit.

[metirish]

We need to keep the faith with Baty , only need to look at Bohm who went through similar stuff around the same age and has turned into a fine player

[Centerfield]

How long until you can tell? He's already had 550 plate appearances in MLB and has a .603 OPS.

Alec Bohm, in his worst year, had a .647 OPS.

[metirish]

Well. If he hasn't figured it out playing every day this season ,then I would say that's it

[Edgy MD]

Vientos for Wendle? There's certainly a strong case for that on its own merits, but from the broader viewpoint, it still leaves them an infielder short of a roster.

The Mets either need to lose an outfielder/DH or a pitcher. The longer they put it off, the more likely it is that they're going to end a game with Martinez in left and/or Nido at second. And then they'll end up making the hard choice the next day, after the BAD ROSTER CONSTRUCTION has already hurt them one time too many.

[ashie62]

Guillermo might be available after the bunting fiasco as an Angel last night

[bmfc1]

The Mets either need to lose an outfielder/DH or a pitcher.

Yes, exactly... but losing a pitcher feels fanciful these days, especially if they are going to a 6-man rotation (otherwise, you could excise Houser unless he's a placeholder for Peterson).

Narvaez--yeesh, but if you don't have another catcher there will be even more passed balls.
Vientos/Baty
Stewart
Taylor.

Taylor is good if you need a modicum of speed and he's a better OF than McNeil and Stewart.
Stewart can't field and JDM makes him superfluous as a DH. Plus, he's a LH as is Baty as is Narvaez. He's a decent hitter so it's nice to have him around but how?
Unless you are making Vientos the full-time 3B ("but what about Baty's confidence?") then Stewart should go (he has a minor league option) and then you add Jose Iglesias to the roster.

[Edgy MD]

Losing a pitcher always feels fanciful.

But the key is to stop taking the ones that you have out while they are pitching well.

[Centerfield]

But the key is to stop taking the ones that you have out while they are pitching well.

I know this isn't exactly the place to hold this conversation, but I feel like this ship has sailed. Everyone believes you should pull the pitcher before he starts to struggle. And the more they subscribe to this theory, the more pitchers will be unfamiliar with extending their outings.

[MFS62]

Everyone believes you should pull the pitcher before he starts to struggle.

Not everyone. Let them pitch until they get into trouble and see if they can work out of it before you go to the bullpen.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Ships can sometimes sail back.

I imagine, though, it's more likely that the league will just expand the roster limit again.

[nymr83]

You make a point about how the prior roster construction was hurting the team. The current roster construction probably hurts less. Lindor isn't coming out of games, so a backup SS is really just injury insurance. The roster with Vientos instead of Wendle is better on days where you don't need a backup SS for the reasons you already stated - so maybe just worry about it if Lindor gets hurt? That seems to be the Mets idea here and I'm fine with it.

[Edgy MD]

It's not just Lindor. It's one lone guy simultaneously backing up three infield positions — with no experience at second and none since the summer after his prom at shortstop. And really he's the most viable backup at first. Plus Vientos and Baty are two guys you like to pinch-hit for each other in key matchups.

We can fake it for a day or two, but it's juggling hand grenades.

[Edgy MD]

Gary just called it "odd roster construction."

He's no fool, and he's talking José Iglesias.

[nymr83]

Alonso doesn't need a seat, neither should McNeil. It's may be ODD but that doesn't make it worse than the alternative. I would try it until someone gets hurt.

[Centerfield]

Honestly I’d sign on for 5 DHs at this point if it meant scoring runs.

[nymr83]

Is it time to send Baty down yet? Might be time to see if Vientos can run with the job here.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I'm Batys gayest fan and would recommend a 2-week tour of the international league and longer if he's not killing it.

[nymr83]

I'm Batys gayest fan and would recommend a 2-week tour of the international league and longer if he's not killing it.

Yeah. I think I read somewhere he has only ~180 ABs at AAA and that was across three separate stints - maybe he legitimately has adjustments he needs to make against AÀA pitching before he can move on to the majors.

[Edgy MD]

Well, whoever made the decision to push him past the more-seasoned-and-higher-performing-but-younger Vientos in the pecking order made a call that seemingly hasn't served anybody well.

[Edgy MD]

José iglesias went 3-for-4 this evening with a double, a. homer, two runs scored, and four RBI. Two of those ribbies scored with two out, and I'm a believer that he's a Met by Friday night.

[Edgy MD]

I've been wrong before, but there appears to be a real pinch coming up, with the Mets needing to add Reyes, presumably by tomorrow, and Peterson, presumably by Wednesday. Complicating things a little bit further is that some of the most vulnerable guys — Adrian Houser, Omar Narváez ... — stepped up in today's win. Brett Baty had a really strong series, and even Tyrone Taylor looked to carve out some extra room for himself, pinch-running and stealing a base when he had to twice in the first two games, before bunt-popping out as a pinch hitter today.

Josh Walker is probably pretty doggone gone by Wednesday, but as the second lefty in the pen, they're gonna be looking for him or somebody like him as soon as they send him out.

[nymr83]

Re: Walker, I'm way too lazy to do the work to prove it, but since the advent of the 3 batter minimum I would suspect teams have gone more days without a second lefty in the pen than before.

[Edgy MD]

I suspect that now a second lefty is something teams tend to want — work hard to make sure they have, and look for when they don't have — more than they actually need.