Making the best Mets lineups possible with all the pieces in-house

The New York Mets have yet to take off this season. With all of the talent they have in the lineup and on the mound, it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

Once Robinson Cano and Brandon Nimmo come off the IL, the New York Mets are going to have to make some interesting roster decisions. I’m already curious to see who gets sent down and/or released.

With their return imminent, I’m going to implement two lineups, one vs right-handed pitching and one vs. left-handed pitching, which I believe will best suit the Mets to make a postseason run. The lineup is solely based on our best offensive lineup. With that being said, the Mets may have to sacrifice some defense for some offense.

This is simply the best offensive lineup vs. each handed pitcher. I’m not factoring in a players salary or what the name is on the back of his jersey. The best players will play in my hypothetical lineup.

We will start with the Mets perfect lineup vs. right-handed pitching. (assuming health for all players, excluding Yoenis Cespedes and Jed Lowrie because it is unclear when Lowrie will return):

1. 3B Jeff McNeil
2. LF Dominic Smith
3. RF Michael Conforto
4. 1B Pete Alonso
5. 2B Robinson Cano
6. C Wilson Ramos
7. SS Amed Rosario
8. CF Brandon Nimmo

Let’s start with the obvious. Jeff McNeil is our best hitter. He will bat near the top of the order for the foreseeable future.

I put Dominic Smith second for a couple of reasons. I was debating between him or Amed Rosario, but Smith is a left-handed bat so it makes more sense. The reason Smith bats second is to give him some protection in the order. Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso will be behind him, therefore Smith will be given some pitches to hit and we’ve seen what he can do with the bat.

After Conforto and Alonso are locked in at three and four, some controversy may arise at five with Cano. I firmly believe if he’s fully healthy, he can still be an excellent hitter. But I am sick and tired of seeing him bat third, so I feel if you drop him down in the lineup, it will take a little pressure off and hopefully he can regain that Robbie Cano Mojo.

Wilson Ramos could honestly hit anywhere from third to sixth on this team, but I feel he is in a good spot to drive in runners in scoring position.

Aforementioned, I thought about Rosario hitting second, but went with Dominic Smith. Rosario had a great end of 2018 and a more than adequate 2019 at the plate. Rosario realistically could bat first, second, seventh, or eighth.

Some people may see this as a controversial pick, but it’s a no brainer for me to put Brandon Nimmo in this lineup. If Nimmo is the Nimmo from last year, he is easily an everyday player. We have yet to see that this season, but there are a lot of games left, and no reason he can’t return from the IL and regain his success from a year ago.

Now, the Mets lineup vs. left-handed pitching:

1. SS Amed Rosario
2. 2B Jeff McNeil
3. 1B Pete Alonso
4. RF Michael Conforto
5. C Wilson Ramos
6. 3B Todd Frazier
7. LF J.D. Davis
8. CF Carlos Gomez/Juan Lagares (whoever is with the team)

Starting from the top, Amed Rosario batting leadoff is an easy decision for me, righty vs. a lefty. Jeff McNeil is again, our best hitter so lefty vs. lefty doesn’t bother me here. Pete Alonso jumps in front of Conforto, so Scooter can be sandwiched in-between two excellent right-handed batters in Alonso and Ramos.

After Ramos is the lovable Todd Frazier. The way he has been hitting the ball for almost a month now, had me almost including him in the first lineup. J.D. Davis will hit seventh as he has been more than a pleasant surprise.

Batting eighth will be whoever survives the upcoming roster moves. Juan Lagares is the longest-tenured Met and it’s hard not to love the guy, but he just hasn’t been producing. Gomez’s numbers aren’t any better, but I feel that Gomez gives the Mets a better chance to win. Putting all else aside, I think Gomez should remain a Met over Lagares.

The two other players who would be on the bench in both of these lineups are Tomas Nido and Adeiny Hechavarria. I tried to get Hechavarria in one of these lineups, but they are simply too strong to have him take Cano’s or McNeil’s spot. The Mets currently only have a four-man bench, but I do believe they will eventually have a five-man bench.

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After writing both of these lineups, to go along with our still above average rotation and our decent bullpen, it’s hard not to get excited for the remainder of 2019. In 2015, all we needed was a chance. The 2019 squad still has one.