What about Javy?

[Benjamin Grimm]

To go along with the McSquirrel thread, what about Javy?



Do we think he'll be back in 2022?



For a while there I was pretty certain the answer was no, but no I'm not so sure.



Further complicating things is that we don't even know who will be making the decision.

[TransMonk]

Well, I'm also assuming Cano comes back next year after his suspension is listed. He's still under contract for a couple years, no?



I suppose if the DH comes to the NL in 2022, there is a possibility that Baez could play 2B and Cano could be at DH, but I have to think if Baez wants to maximize his value that he could hit the market as a SS and make more.

[MFS62]

I think if they make a competitive offer to him, he'll stay.

He seems to like it here (now that the thumbs down and booing have stopped) and he has responded by playing well.

His ceiling is higher than McNeil's, but his floor may be lower.



In response to Monk, I think (but am not sure) Cano only has one more year on his contract.



Later

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

He most definitely will be back,write it down.



Him and Alonso together are righthanded hitting powerplants. He's a skilled fielder and good runner. They didn't get him just for a 3 month test drive.

[TransMonk]

https://i.imgur.com/q5xsPca.png>



Cano signed through 2023 at a salary that leads me to believe he needs to be in the lineup somewhere.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I'm not sure the Mets will be Javy's best offer, but I'm still real confident the Mets will try to bring him back (and I think they should).

[Ceetar]

more thoughts on this week's Mets On Tap podcast, in your feed. (rate, review, subscribe)



https://www.barleyprose.com/beer/1515/https://www.barleyprose.com/beer/1515/



Báez is okay as part of the bigger picture, but they need 1, more 2, outfielders and particularly guys that can get on base, which is where Báez fails. We're lucky he's having about a good as stretch as he's ever had right now, though that's clearly not his true talent level.

[Edgy MD]

Oh, I think it matches his talent. It just doesn't match his performance baseline to date.



The guy is sick with talent.

[Ceetar]

He's a career 104 wRC+. That's over 3200 PA. That's a pretty large sample, and a pretty good representative of what his talent level is. He's been hitting twice that the last few weeks. We can't let the last few weeks forget that what we're signing long term would be the 104 guy, which is fine, but not as the lynchpin of your offense, which is why his acquisition at the deadline was so poorly thought out.

[Frayed Knot]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: He's a skilled fielder and good runner. They didn't get him just for a 3 month test drive.

This is the conundrum with this guy.



He's a skilled fielder (who has 20 errors this year and only his juggling act last night kept that from being 21 even though that bobble prevented a DP in an inning where the Cards scored several

two-out runs) and a good runner (who makes a lot of stupid base running decisions and his hand jive stuff only occasionally allows him to get away with it).



And then there's the .305 career OBA which peaked at .326 in his best season (2018) and is .286 since the start of 2020 so it's not improving

and he turn 29 y/o in December so one wonders if he's already too old to change his spots.



And it likely won't be a short commitment.

[Edgy MD]

=Ceetar post_id=77708 time=1631648710 user_id=102]
He's a career 104 wRC+. That's over 3200 PA. That's a pretty large sample, and a pretty good representative of what his talent level is.

[Ceetar]

yes, but you didn't write that, I did. Call it whatever you want, though 'true talent' is a pretty standard usage. Doesn't change the point.

[Edgy MD]

I don't understand what I didn't write.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't mind Baez. But if the Mets hitters were hitting to our expectations this season, Baez would be hitting about 7th in the lineup if that was up to me. If Baez played on a team like the '77 Mets, then I could see him in the cleanup slot, like Dave Kingman. But like Ceets said, those numbers don't lie, and we've got a huge sample size to work with, and Baez, who'll turn 30 on his next birthday, may have already peaked. Plus, defense goes before offense does, especially at the crucial and more demanding positions Baez plays.

[Centerfield]

Frayed Knot wrote: Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: He's a skilled fielder and good runner. They didn't get him just for a 3 month test drive. This is the conundrum with this guy. He's a skilled fielder (who has 20 errors this year and only his juggling act last night kept that from being 21 even though that bobble prevented a DP in an inning where the Cards scored several two-out runs) and a good runner (who makes a lot of stupid base running decisions and his hand jive stuff only occasionally allows him to get away with it). And then there's the .305 career OBA which peaked at .326 in his best season (2018) and is .286 since the start of 2020 so it's not improving and he turn 29 y/o in December so one wonders if he's already too old to change his spots. And it likely won't be a short commitment.

Yes. This exactly. All the talk of strikeouts, it's the lack of OBP. And even in his shorts Mets stint where they are talking about "the new selective Javy Baez", he's walked 6 times in 125 PAs. Which doesn't sound like a lot except he walked only 7 times in 235 PAs last year. Plate discipline isn't a skill that young players seem to be able to acquire. And certainly not at age 29.



I get that Baez does a lot of things well. But almost all of that is based on ridiculous athleticism. I don't think that tends to age well. So, with long term commitments being risky to begin with, I don't think they should take a risk on a guy that already has so many question marks surrounding his game.



Which is why I believe that Sandy Alderson would have absolutely made a full effort to sign him this winter. Hopefully the new front office has other thoughts.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I didn't support the trade for such reasons, and I don't support a re-signing, but we'll see.

[G-Fafif]

Lindor plus fill-in-the-blank up the middle will feel like a disappointment after Lindor plus Baez, at least in the short term.

[MFS62]

=G-Fafif post_id=77729 time=1631658813 user_id=55]
Lindor plus fill-in-the-blank up the middle will feel like a disappointment after Lindor plus Baez, at least in the short term.

[G-Fafif]

McNeil = Zobrist in my dreams (except in a Mets uniform).

[Frayed Knot]

=G-Fafif post_id=77731 time=1631659233 user_id=55]
McNeil = Zobrist in my dreams

[Gwreck]

=TransMonk post_id=77693 time=1631641644 user_id=71]
Well, I'm also assuming Cano comes back next year after his suspension is listed. He's still under contract for a couple years, no?

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I'd be surprised if Cano comes back. Would rather release him and eat the contract and not care if he plays for someone else. Would be a bold statement from Cohen.

[Ceetar]

no, that's just dumb.



Also Cohen doesn't make bold statements, just blustery ones.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

It's not dumb. Cano is a 38 year old disgraced juicer who has been away a year.

[Ceetar]

he can hit. no one cares about steroids, they just put Jeter in the HoF for crying out loud. Either way there's zero value in cutting him and at least some value in trying to play him, or even just pretending you're going to.

[kcmets]

=Ceetar post_id=77751 time=1631670300 user_id=102]
no one cares about steroids, they just put Jeter in the HoF for crying out loud.

[Frayed Knot]

he can hit. -- a sub 100 OPS+ in his last full season when he was 36 y/o. He'll turn 39 in a few weeks with 40-some games played over two full years



no one cares about steroids -- yes they do









I'm not even going to ask why a Jeter comment in in there

Edited September 14, 2021 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

He's been off the field for a year because somebody cares about steroids.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=kcmets post_id=77753 time=1631671148 user_id=53]
=Ceetar post_id=77751 time=1631670300 user_id=102]
no one cares about steroids, they just put Jeter in the HoF for crying out loud.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=77786 time=1631675383 user_id=68]
=kcmets post_id=77753 time=1631671148 user_id=53]
=Ceetar post_id=77751 time=1631670300 user_id=102]
no one cares about steroids, they just put Jeter in the HoF for crying out loud.