Marcus Stroman to Mets: What is Brodie Van Wagenen Doing?

by J.W. Steinberg | July 29, 2019

These New York Mets, they’re infuriating. They seem unable to grasp the basic skill of team building. It’s been 40 years since the Mets had a GM who understood the art of completing a jigsaw puzzle. Forty years since they hired Frank Cashen.

So far, at least, Brodie Van Wagenen is no Frank Cashen, or even Sandy Alderson.

Sandy Alderson, the prior Mets’ GM, had an idea what he was doing, but his hands were consistently tied by an ownership that refused to see the team for what it was.

A mediocre group of defenders who played loose baseball that undermined a brilliant (at times) pitching staff.

Completing the Jigsaw Puzzle

As diligently as Alderson tried, ownership refused to appreciate the art of completing a jigsaw puzzle.

Yet Alderson almost did it after he traded for Yoenis Cespedes at the trade deadline in July 2015. Only Cespedes’ Babe Ruth-like performance over the final two months of the 2015 season transformed the Mets into National League Champions and powered them to a World Series berth.

Better defensive play might have won them the 2015 World Series.

Alderson understood pitching. Knew how to trade for it. His draft picks, though, left a lot to be desired. Except for Pete Alonso, drafted by Alderson in the second round of the 2016 draft. The Mets can win with Alonso at first base. But where are the other contributors? When will they figure out how to complete their own jigsaw puzzle?

Going Around the Diamond …

Dom Smith was a 2013 Alderson first-round pick who has become an orphan. A player without a position. He will not take first base away from Alonso. Question is, can the Mets find a taker and recoup some value, if there is any, for a man without a defined role? The other question is why the Mets have allowed Smith to play himself off the team? Why haven’t they grown his value? Then again, this is the reason the Mets are the Mets. Their jigsaw puzzle is rarely complete.

It seems no one on the Mets has honestly assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Keyword, honestly. If they did objectively evaluate the talent level they would realize they will never win a championship with Amed Rosario at shortstop. The real question is, can they even play .500 baseball with him at shortstop?

Next question, can anyone play a major league quality center field? Only the Mets would play Michael Conforto in center field. Even Brandon Nimmo (when healthy) is not a center fielder. Why is Juan Lagares still a Met?

So, at these two key defensive positions, the Mets are deficient.

What about Jeff McNeill? Can he handle second or third base defensively? Clearly, the man can hit. He’s another Daniel Murphy good hit-no field type. He’s definitely tradeable if the Mets want to move him.

Remembering 2015 harkens back to the days when the Mets played Murphy at second alongside a poor defensive combination of Reuben Tejada and Wilmer Flores at shortstop.

No need to dwell on the 2019 version of Robinson Cano, who is no longer the player he once was.

As for catching, Wilson Ramos is an older, slower, plodding player not worth the money he’s being paid. Why didn’t they give Devon Mesoraco another chance? Or even Travis d’Arnaud? What was the hurry to release him?

Team Without Chemistry

That’s why the Mets are jagged and lack cohesion. Regardless of the way ownership sees the team, there’s a reason they are who they are. Perhaps it’s because no one has told the Mets that defense is important. Does Brodie Van Wagenen understand the importance of saving runs? He must see daily defensive metrics in this analytical age. But based on his decisions, who knows what he’s reading?

Why did Van Wagenen trade for the second-best ground ball pitcher among major league starters this season, Marcus Stroman when the Mets are statistically the worst infield defense in the majors? Does this make sense? Does Van Wagenen understand the disconnect?

Philosophically, the question is, what the hell are the Mets doing?

At least the two pitchers the Mets traded for Marcus Stroman, the lefty pitching prospect Anthony Kay, and the righty prospect Simeon Woods Richardson have not reminded any baseball evaluators so far of Jerry Koosman or Tom Seaver.

If Van Wagenen does not look at the Mets through rose-colored glasses, he should see the Mets are not one player away from contention.

So, why trade young talent for a 28-year-old Marcus Stroman? Where’s the logic?