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Mets: Players in their “last chance” season in hope of a turnaround

By Michael Calascione |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Steven Matz #32 of the New York Mets reacts on the mound after surrendering a sixth inning grand slam home run against Jorge Alfaro #38 of the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on September 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Steven Matz #32 of the New York Mets reacts on the mound after surrendering a sixth inning grand slam home run against Jorge Alfaro #38 of the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on September 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 31: Steven Matz #32 of the New York Mets reacts after giving up a single to Scott Kingery #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on August 31, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 31: Steven Matz #32 of the New York Mets reacts after giving up a single to Scott Kingery #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on August 31, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

These three members of the New York Mets organization may only have one more year to prove themselves.

Every year a new season starts and every year there is a new list of players made that are in make-or-break seasons. The 2020 New Yor Mets season brings exactly that and this year there are three main players on the list.

Whether it is their last chance to keep their spot on the major league roster or just a spot in the Mets system, it is an important year for three players in particular.

Each of these three players is on this list for very different reasons and have to do very different things to try and remain a member of the New York Mets organization. Only they can decide their fate and for each of them, I hope that they step up to the plate and prove the doubters wrong.

Steven Matz

There is always something with the Long Island product. Whether it is the injuries, or the bad stretches, or the temper on the mound there is always something that prevents Steven Matz from reaching his full potential.

Matz was such a highly regarded prospect, both out of high school and in the Mets minor leagues. He impressed right out of the gate in his MLB debut and then he re-caught the injury bug that plagued him so much in the minor leagues.

He only made 22 starts in 2016 and then 13 in 2017.

He finally stayed healthy each of the last two seasons making 30 starts in both 2018 and 2019 but the results were just lackluster. Matz posted a 3.97 ERA over 154 innings in 2018 and a 4.21 ERA over 160.1 innings in 2019.

The inflated ERA’s is partly due to the number of home runs he gives up and the composure he lacks on the mound when he gets into trouble. Matz is notorious for getting in his own way after struggling. This prevents him from having a short-term memory and shaking off a bad pitch or sequence of pitches.

If Matz could just keep him cool on the mound and try to pitch to groundballs more he would most likely have a much higher rate of success and it may even save his Mets career.

Hopefully, in 2020 he can put everything together and make the Mets rotation even more dominant than it is already perceived to be.

NEW YORK – JUNE 10: Bats and batting weights lay in the on deck circle during the game between the New York Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies during their game on June 10, 2009 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – JUNE 10: Bats and batting weights lay in the on deck circle during the game between the New York Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies during their game on June 10, 2009 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Desmond Lindsay

Desmond Lindsay was drafted by the New York Mets in the second round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He was highly regarded and was considered one of the top centerfielders in that draft. However, there were concerns about his legs coming out of high school.

Lindsay experienced hamstring issues his last year at the Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, Florida. Despite this, the Mets took a chance on him and hoped that the injuries would not be a big factor and his tools would rise above and he could be the next great centerfielder for the franchise.

So far it has not worked out that way.

Lindsay started his Mets career quite well hitting .304/.400/.464/.864 through 21 games with the GCL and earned a promotion to Brooklyn.

He started off 2016 with Brooklyn and again had a great start to the season but that’s when the injuries started to pile up. Lindsay was hampered with a hamstring injury as well as a calf issue that led him to only play in 32 games that season.

Hamstring injuries continued to nag him for the next few years and he saw his production drop as a result of it.

To date, Lindsay has a career slash line of .238/.343/.367/.710 this is not the greatest line for someone who was once considered a top-five prospect in the organization and is now barely a top 30 guy.

2020 is a real last chance season for Lindsay because if the injuries continue or the production does not pick up, he may be looking for work elsewhere.

Lindsay has the tools to be a big-league player he just has to get out of his own way and work his craft to be able to get back to the level he was at that made the Mets take a chance on him back in 2015.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 21: Tim Tebow #15 of the New York Mets poses for a photo on Photo Day at First Data Field on February 21, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 21: Tim Tebow #15 of the New York Mets poses for a photo on Photo Day at First Data Field on February 21, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Tim Tebow

The ageless wonder that is Tim Tebow may have his sun setting on his Mets career. Tim Tebow was signed by Sandy Alderson back in 2016 mainly as a publicity stunt to try and sell more tickets at their lesser attended minor league games and now the time is running out. Unfortunately, Tebow has not done very much in the three minor league seasons he has played in.

He has a career slash line of .223/.299/.338/.638 and if his name was not Tim Tebow he probably would have been cut already. At 33 years old he is going into his fourth season in the Mets minors and he must show some sign of life offensively to warrant being kept around.

This is no shot at Tebow but if his numbers are put in a vacuum, he has not had a successful minor league career despite not playing baseball for 15 years.

If he has another season like the first three, he may be seeing his Mets career come to a close. It was a nice story in the beginning, but the Mets may be forced to move on if he does not take advantage of this last chance opportunity.

He is Rule 5 eligible at the end of the 2020 season and the Mets will have a decision to make if they want to add him to their 40-man roster.

Five early bold predictions for the 2020 season. Next

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At this point, I cannot see an avenue that they would find a spot for him unless he takes advantage of the last chance season and prove that all his hard work has come together and can now produce respectable numbers.

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