Who Should Be Mets’ Right-Handed DH For Wild Card Series?
After finishing the regular season on a high note by sweeping the Washington Nationals in three games, the Mets have an off day Thursday to regroup before the playoffs start Friday.
While most things playoff related are set, like the Mets taking on the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round, there are still some moving parts. A key one for the Mets is who they will deploy as their right-handed hitting DH.
With news on Wednesday that Darin Ruf could be an option to return Friday, New York has three options they can consider: Ruf, and rookies Mark Vientos and Francisco Álvarez.
Ruf, 35, hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since being acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline, being worth -0.9 fWAR in just 29 games.
Ruf has been sidelined with a neck injury since last week, but could be an option for New York since his IL stint was backdated.
While Ruf has struggled, he would provide the Mets a veteran bat against a heavily left-handed Padres pitching staff. Unlike Vientos and Álvarez, Ruf comes with more versatility, as he can play first base and outfield.
Vientos, 22, made his MLB debut last month and logged 41 plate appearances for New York, all coming from the DH spot.
The Florida native had a strong minor league season, but was worth -0.1 fWAR for New York in the bigs and hit just one home run.
Vientos has a lot of power in his bat, but it hasn’t translated fully to the majors yet. Vientos has looked overmatched, even in a small sample size (he had 12 strikeouts in 36 at-bats).
Vientos, who came through the minors as a third baseman, has some experience at first base and outfield, had been deployed primarily as a DH before his call up this year. It seems that’s what he’s destined to be.
Lastly, the Mets made a surprise move last week by promoting 20-year-old Francisco Álvarez to the bigs prior to a crucial series against the rival Atlanta Braves.
It took a few games, but Álvarez found his stroke against the Washington Nationals, as he clubbed his first big league home run on Tuesday as well as a double, and walked twice on Wednesday.
After a dynamite season in the minors, Álvarez flew through the ranks and earned a well-deserved call up this year. However, he is just 20-years-old.
The No. 1 prospect in baseball, there’s no doubt Álvarez will be competing for the starting catcher job next spring, but is he ready now for a playoff spot?
With the Mets participating in the postseason for the first time in six years, Citi Field is set to be rocking this weekend, which would put a lot of pressure on such a young player.
While that shouldn’t dissuade the Mets from carrying him in the postseason, I’m sure it’s something they will consider.
The rosters for the Wild Card round will be locked in on Friday morning, and the Mets have a couple things to consider, but it wouldn’t be surprising for them to carry maybe even two out of these three players.
Read More:
- Mets Injury Updates: Starling Marte, Darin Ruf
- Why Taijuan Walker Deserves Spot in Mets' Postseason Rotation
- Mets' Francisco Alvarez Crushes Home Run for 1st MLB Hit
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