Why the Mets Should NOT Put Duda in the Outfield

Earlier today Adam Rubin of ESPN reportedly spoke with GM Sandy Alderson, who told Rubin he expects Lucas Duda to continue getting playing-time in the outfield (ESPN New York). Duda played 58 games in the outfield last year--all in left field (Baseball Reference).

I, for one, am shocked they would put him there; Duda doesn't play well in the outfield and has expressed his distaste for the position in the past. The lefty's fielding percentage has been consistently lower in the outfield throughout his time in the majors. Plus, it has been below average there and on-par with MLB positional averages at first base.

credit: Newsday

According to Baseball Reference, Duda's "Rdrs/yr" has been severely below average in the outfield and right around average at first base. They explain the statistic to measure "the number of runs above or below average the fielder was worth per 1,200 innings (approximately 135 games)."Duda's career Rdrs/yr in the outfield stands at -27 while its at 1 when he's on first. For anyone who watches him play, looks at his stats or even listens to him, it's obvious he shouldn't be playing the outfield.

Much debate has ensued this winter about who should play first for the Mets, i.e. Duda or Ike Davis. GM Alderson clearly preferred to hand Duda the job after attempting to trade Davis all offseason. After no deal could be reached, the trade talks stopped and consensus is Davis will be at Spring Training (competing with Duda for first-base).

I don't see any good reason to keep Duda on the club if he won't play first base. Alderson's comments concern me because it is clear he doesn't perform well or comfortably in the outfield. If Davis will have the starting job in April, the two productive things to do with Duda options would be either to demote or trade him. If he doesn't get the job and the Mets could get something good for him--like a backup infielder or reliever--then they will have every reason to do it.


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Davis and Santana Injury Updates

Ike Davis

As many may have forgotten at this point, Ike collided with David Wright when both players went for the same infield pop-up on May 10^th of last year in Colorado. Doctors originally told Davis that his ankle would be healed by the time he was eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list. In those two weeks the presumed sprained ankle had been in a boot, however it turned out to have cartilage damage. Inevitably, Ike’s conditioned worsened--enough to currently leave speculation as to whether he’ll make it through spring training.

Ike has said that he feels great and is completely ready to go, but some aren’t satisfied. Adam Rubin of ESPN deemed Ike’s treatment one more medical gaffe in a long string dating back at least the Mets days of Billy Wagner and Brian Schneider.

Johan Santana

By far the largest player on the Mets’ payroll (due for $24 million this year), the ace missed all of last season recovering from left shoulder surgery. Johan is already in Port St. Lucie, the spring training home of the Mets, and has been throwing successfully. Pitchers and catchers aren’t due to report for spring training until February 13^th, but Santana has been testing his shoulder strength and working it back to full pitching form.

He's been long tossing and is preparing to being pitching very soon; Terry Collins (Mets manager) will soon join him and assess his progress. Johan insists he’s ready, but similar to Davis, many question his ability to have a fully healthy spring.

For both players only time will tell of their readiness. Of the two Davis is definitely in better condition, but both clearly have their obstacles to overcome this spring. 

Reyes Update

For the past couple days, the Jose Reyes rumor mill has been re-ignited.  Reports yesterday from Sports Illustrated’s Joel Sherman said that the Milwaukee Brewers will meet with Reyes’ agents sometime this week. Early signs have made it appear unlikely that the Brewers are seriously pondering a Reyes signing, and up until now the Mets and Marlins have been the only two teams seriously in the running.

The Marlins have also upped their game and, according ESPNDeportes, increased their offer $111 million over 6 years. This offer had many sources saying that an official Reyes-Marlins signing is extremely imminent, and could come as early as tonight. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York has stated that when questioned about rumors of the Marlins’ new offer, Sandy Alderson responded that if the Marlins’ reported offer is accurate, then the Mets are out of the bidding. Not long thereafter, Buster Olney of ESPN said that the Marlins have finalized a deal with Jose. 

Many other sources have come forward reporting a Marlins-Reyes agreement, but as we’ve seen before nobody can be %100 trusted in this business. 

Reyes Rumor Roundup: Tweet Style

The “Jose Reyes Story” literally began the minute Reyes became a free agent. According to the Miami Herald the (at the time Florida) Marlins contacted Jose at 12:01 on the first morning of his free agency. Among all the teams to have contacted him, the Miami Marlins appear the most serious. The second and third teams in the running as of now appear to be the Mets and Milwaukee Brewers respectively. However, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin clarified today that the team’s active pursuit of Reyes was simply rumor.  “One phone call. No numbers” said Melvin, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN. Rubin first reported this in a “tweet”, the apparent new mode of communication of baseball rumor and report.

What really ignited the twitter and media frenzy over Reyes was this “tweet” by Dino Costa of Sirius XM:

This “tweet” preceded numerous “tweets” and statements from just about every major baseball journalist. Many of these simply “re-tweeted” the original Dino Costa message, creating a mixed state of confusion and misinformation. I say “misinformation” because, well, Jose Reyes is not currently a Miami Marlin, as clarified pretty clearly in this tweet by Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.

This tweet only added to the frenzy that had engulfed the baseball community, yet turned out to be correct. No Jose Reyes contract is official, although one could easily be imminent, most likely with the Marlins. The Marlins have apparently been very adamant in their pursuits of Reyes. Kevin Burkhardt of SNY confirmed the suspicions today with this tweet:

The parameters of Reyes’ desired deal are slowly being shaped, but it seems one number is really what Jose is looking for, at least according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

Many journalists had said that a deal with Miami was solely contingent on Hanley Ramirez switching positions, which Burkhardt elaborated on today:

Adam Rubin delivered the only bit of positive information to come out of this whole situation, from a Mets fan’s perspective, once again via tweet.

This is amazing news for the Mets, as it means that Reyes isn’t as close to signing with another team as the baseball community has thought. This also indicates that Sandy Alderson has talked at least with Reyes’ agents in the time since Jose met with Miami. Before today, Alderson had said that he hadn’t spoken with Reyes or his agents since their preliminary meetings.

To this point, not much is certain about Reyes other than the parameters of his preferred contract. Right now a deal with the Marlins looks more likely than one with the Mets, though only time will tell.