“Outfield? What outfield?”
– Sandy Alderson at the General Managers meetings, Nov. 8, 2012
PORT ST. LUCIE – Sandy Alderson is celebrated – rightfully – for constructing arguably the majors’ best rotation.
But with far less fanfare, he might have done the same with his outfield. The Mets are at least in the conversation after Alderson churned through so many “what outfield?” options such as Collin Cowgill, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Andres Torres.
And, as opposed to the rotation, this is pretty much an achievement of Alderson’s administration. Remember he inherited Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz, as well as the veterans (Carlos Beltran and R.A. Dickey) he turned into Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard.
But his front office drafted Michael Conforto, signed Curtis Granderson, traded for Yoenis Cespedes (the main chip was an Alderson draft pick, Michael Fulmer) and re-signed Cespedes after patiently waiting out the market.
Mets outfielders finished a collective 12th in the majors with a .746 OPS last season, but from Aug. 1 on – which incorporates the late July Conforto promotion and Cespedes acquisition – Mets outfielders had a major league-best .887 OPS.
The Mets (Cespedes, Conforto, Granderson) and Cardinals (Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Thomas Pham) were the lone teams to have three outfielders with an OPS of .820 or better (minimum 150 plate appearances). With Cespedes and Granderson, the 2016 Mets are the only team that has two outfielders who had more than 5 Wins Above Replacement (the stat tries to incorporate offense, defense and baserunning into one stat) last season.
Granderson mentioned “flexibility and depth are key,” and the Mets have strength in numbers. Juan Lagares had a .771 OPS vs. lefties last year and can rest either Conforto or Granderson against a southpaw. Alejandro De Aza had an .800 OPS against righties. Lagares’ above-average defense can be plugged in late in games.
The Cubs and Mets have been compared in recent years as big-market clubs that lowered payrolls to go into extended rebuilds. Now, their outfields share similarities. Two lefty-swinging college outfielders were drafted in the top 10 in 2014: the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber, who had an .842 OPS in his 2015 debut, and Conforto, who was at .841.
Like Cespedes, Jason Heyward was a big free-agent sign earmarked to play out of place in center field before the Cubs’ late re-up with Dexter Fowler. With the inclusion of Jorge Soler and Javier Baez (who is diversifying by also playing the outfield), the Cubs have versatility and depth like the Mets.
Perhaps the team that best combines top starters (Carlos Gomez, Colby Rasmus, George Springer) with quality depth (Jake Marisnick, Preston Tucker) is the Astros. The best starting threesome could belong to the Pirates because they have the brilliant Andrew McCutchen, and Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco appear not to have reached their ceilings.
The Diamondbacks probably had the best all-around outfield last year, but traded Ender Inciarte. A.J. Pollock and David Peralta are now joined by question mark Yasmany Tomas. Arizona is looking for a lefty-hitting supplement to Tomas, someone like de Aza.
The Tigers lost center fielder Cameron Maybin (fractured wrist), but he should be back by May to join power corners J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton. Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon give the Royals’ two-thirds of a superb outfield, but Jarrod Dyson is a question in right field and also out with an oblique injury.
Is the athletic Red Sox trio of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley and Rusney Castillo ready to excel full-time? Can Jayson Werth stay healthy and productive enough with Bryce Harper, Michael Taylor and Ben Revere to make the Nationals special? Can the Angels get enough production from left field in conjunction with the great Mike Trout and standout Kole Calhoun? Can Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson honor their talent to join Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke to give the Dodgers a deep unit? Are Grichuk, Pham and Piscotty going to be productive for 500 plate appearances and join Matt Holliday in giving the Cardinals an excellent group?
The Mets have fewer questions than most, certainly fewer than when Alderson made his “what outfield?” comment, which came shortly after releasing Jason Bay, shortly before trying and failing to sign Michael Bourn.
From 2012-14, Mets outfielders had an NL-worst .691 OPS. The transformation began last year with Conforto and Cespedes arriving. Now, the Mets are, of all things, in the conversation for the majors’ best outfield.