Mets AAA team moving to Syracuse is the best change they will make in 2019

The smartest decision is sometimes the most obvious. For the New York Mets, moving their Triple-A team from Las Vegas to Syracuse is the correct swap.

The New York Mets bid farewell to the Las Vegas 51s and will move their Triple-A affiliate to the Syracuse Chiefs. If you’ve ever sat in on one American geography class even by accident before realizing your mistake and spending the entire semester coming back just to avoid the embarrassment of admitting your mistake, you’ll probably figure out the benefits of this.

Nobody likes traveling long distances at a moment’s notice. Those players on the fringe of a big league promotion will be most thankful for the change. Going from Upstate New York to the Big Apple is a much nicer trip.

Throughout 2018, we saw players go back and forth between New York and Las Vegas. Ever since the Mets moved their Triple-A squad across the country, this has been a problem.

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The distance is far too great to get a guy up to MLB quickly. As a result, we’ve seen more Double-A players skip over Triple-A than necessary. We’ve also seen the 2018 team go with a short roster due to the unavailability of teleportation.

Finding a Triple-A affiliate closer to home has surely been a mission of the Mets for a few years now. As sexy as Las Vegas is, it doesn’t make any logical sense.

Sure, a Double-A team or lower far away can work. You’re not calling up those guys as urgently as you would a Triple-A prospect.

Beginning in 2019, the Metropolitans can now promote a spot starter and have him at Citi Field in a few hours. If someone gets hurt, they can replace him on the roster much easier.

Maybe a forgotten benefit as well, we’ll no longer have people saying the offensive numbers in Las Vegas are inflated due to the Pacific Coast League’s hitter-happy environment.

There will be fewer excuses for bad pitching numbers. This is a good thing anyway as it could help a young arm from losing confidence due to his disastrous-looking ERA.

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Of all the moves the Mets could make, this is one of the wisest, most practical, and guaranteed to help the ballclub.