1/28/14

Matt Gad - The Battle For The New Utility Man

     

Gone is Justin Turner. Gone is the red hair, the pie-man, the #2 utility stud of the Mets. Gone is all the jokes, but jokes aside, gone is the presence of a great off-the-bench pull hitter. So naturally, the Mets need to recreate that off-the-bench prowess in 2014, and naturally, they have some candidates in the waiting. First off, there's backup first baseman Lucas Duda, who can also play right field. Duda is a strong, lean guy who looks like he should be hitting shots with his type of build, but he seems to always be slumping. A good guy everyone tries to root for. He does show promise though, maybe not as the starter, but I mean, he's another option off the bench. Will he platoon with Ike? I don't see it. He should still get some starts there, but all will pan out in good time. For now, Ike Davis is our first baseman, and that in itself will sort itself out in due time as well.

      Of course Anthony Recker is our backup catcher, but I mean he's noting to write home about. He hit some balls out last year, and actually had to pitch one time--and he was actually decent at it. Nevertheless, he's there. He's alright. And he'll be working some plate time on D'Arnaud's off days. We will see how Travis plays out, he's supposed to be around a number five hitter, and an offensive catcher. Let's not scream Mauer here, but that's a different discussion. Back to the bench talk, well you also have Andrew Brown, who is best in right. He came on nicely at the end of the season last year, and he shows great promise. What will Brown's fate be? I'd say an off-the-bench outfield type--along with Duda and Eric Young Jr.
     So there's about one or two spots left. Let's look at other infielders. Josh Satin seems to realize he couldn't just sit around this winter and go through his normal routines, because the way the club was shaping up, he would have not had a major league opportunity in that case. Satin has changed his ways, by taking outfield reps, talking to one-time recent Met Marlon Byrd, and improving his plate-disciple. His numbers and power don't scream out at anyone, but I mean, he's good. Needs to get better, and we will see what is in store this Spring Training. I think he has the skill set, with the improvements to do what Turner was about to do for the past few years in Flushing. Satin may also see some first base starts, but along with Duda, that doesn't seem too favorable with the current rosters being what they are. Then lastly, well it could be a toss-up. Its Wilmer Flores, Zach Lutz, Wilfredo Tovar...a lot of undeveloped talent. Lutz had some time up here last September, but I mean it makes sense for him to be in Triple-A Las Vegas, and we should see him this summer. He's a natural third baseman too. Then we get to Flores, who seems like he belongs in the AL. Not because he's a DH-type, but I mean he's the odd-man-out, yes he could be on our bench, but maybe he fills a better role to be a utility presence than Satin, because he's not getting much playing time--at least in the way of starts. 

     And lastly, you've got Wilfredo Tovar. Tovar is highly unproven, and unlike Lutz, not really any MLB time to show for. But I mean he's a guy who can be the shortstop in Vegas, I mean unless that's Q's job. Spring will tell us. Oh and don't forget, our roster changed a lot from April to the end--we started with our center fielder being Colin Cowgill, so for some people, its moving pieces. Let's wait it out and see what happens to everything. 


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

A guy you will hear a lot about in terms of that 5th bench spot Utility man.

Anthony Seratelli- The Jersey native who plays all 4 IF positions.

Mack Ade said...

I was just going to write the same thing... :)

tommyb said...

Seratelli could be for the Mets like Seratonin to the body; here's a quote onthe latter: "...serotonin plays an impressive number of critical roles throughout the body." A guy who could play a number of critical roles on this team would be welcome.

Anonymous said...

I was surprised Seratelli never got a chance in the Bigs.

His two seasons in AAA aren't half bad.

2012: .299/.374/.492, 17 HR, 66 RBI, 15 SB, 20.9% K, 10.0% BB

2013: .273/.395/.413, 11 HR, 41 RBI, 24 SB, 16.6% K, 15.8% BB

He made significant improvement between the two seasons. He's going to be a very useful guy.

His direct competition in camp will be Omar Quintanilla, and his secondary competition is Zach Lutz, Josh Satin, Wilmer Flores, and Lucas Duda

Hobie said...

Chris/Mack--

Yep. Carnac the Magnificent says "Saratelli..." (Opens envelope,,,"utility pasta.")

Herb G said...

Seems like it may be unanimous - the utiity pie thrower this year is Seratelli. Unless Ruben is not the starting SS. In that event, the UT role probably goes to him.

The big questions are:

Who wins the starting 1B job in ST. I'm betting on (hoping for) Ike, in which case Duda would probably get a bench spot. But if Joe Palooka . . er . . I mean Lucas wins out, does Ike get DFA'd?

Whe gets the 3rd OF job? Lagares or EYJ. In this case, it seems obvious to me that the other would be on the bench. But maybe it isn't as obvious as it seems. It is possible that Lagares could be sent down to get regular ABs in Vegas, to hone his hitting skills in anticipation of a mid year call up.

Christopher soto said...

We'll be taking a look at position battles in a few weeks but my guess is the following 5 guys

C- Anthony Decker- RH
1B/OF- Josh Satin- RH
2B/OF- Eric Young Jr.- Switch
SS/3B- Anthony Seratelli- Switch
OF- Matt Den Dekker- LH

Unknown said...

Thanks for the feedback!