For months now speculation has surrounded the Mets about signing or trading for a legitimate starting shortstop, but after the Winter Meetings, that speculation is gone. After hearing of Zobrist’s decision, the Mets traded Jon Neise for Pirates’ second baseman, Neil Walker. Then just hours later, New York signed Asdrubal Cabrera to a 2-year $18.5 million deal. Most likely, Wilmer Flores, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Neil Walker will all platoon between 2nd and short, thus no need to go out and get a big time shortstop. None of the three guys are all-star talented infielders like Ian Desmond at the moment, but the combination of them could be lethal.
Wilmer Flores had a slugging percentage of .408 in 137 games during his 2015 campaign, and got a chance to thrive at 2nd base (292 innings), and not just at shortstop. Because of his 14 errors at short, many thought maybe he didn’t fit well as the Mets’ full-time guy there, so they moved him to second, and he excelled. Now that Daniel Murphy is a free agent, and the Mets lost the bidding war for Zobrist, they picked up two key pieces.
Neil Walker has been the starting second baseman in Pittsburgh since 2011, playing in an average of 142 games. Since he finished 5th in the NL ROTY votes in 2011, he has batted between .295-.265 punching at least 12-20 homers over the fence. He collects at least 200 total bases every year, while being valuable to the Pirates, producing a WAR of 9.8 over the past three years. From 2013-2015 he has upped his game, producing a slugging percentage of .438 with over 70 RBI’s in 2014 and 2015. What has really improved is his defense at 2nd, saving a total of 11 runs with a range factor above average the past 3 seasons. He will most likely be keyed in as the starting second baseman, and hopefully that will help improve Wilmer’s defense as well. But, knowing that a guy like Asdrubal Cabrera is backing them up is comforting.
Cabrera was a two-time all-star shortstop with Cleveland in 2011-2012, acting as a power hitter with speed. During his 8 years with the Indians, he hit .270, while collecting over 200 doubles, and swiping 70 bags. He was praised for being a good clubhouse leader with Cleveland back in his early days, but what makes him valuable is his versatility. Asdrubal has showed flashes of brilliance with the glove, but overall he is inconsistent. However, playing over 1700 innings at 2nd base as well makes him a good fit to backup both Flores and Walker, or act as a platoon man. He has got speed and pop, which are key attributes for a bench player. He may turn out to be the best move of the offseason for the Mets.
In baseball, boat loads of money doesn’t need to be spent to win championships. Instead of signing Zobrist to over $50 million, adding Walker and Cabrera might work out better, and at a cheaper price. Neil Walker has arguably just as good of a bat that Daniel Murphy or Ben Zobrist have, hitting a solid .270 for over 140 games most years. The Mets just won the NL, so why scramble the roster, just a few tweaks are needed.
