5 NY Mets players in Carlos Mendoza’s doghouse set to hit the trade market

5) Luisangel Acuna

In a somewhat similar spot yet entirely different from Mauricio, we find Luisangel Acuna. The fastest player on the team last year and among the quickest in all of Major League Baseball, Acuna has a clear role on any team. He is your pinch runner. He’s even your up-the-middle defensive replacement. Beyond that, Acuna hasn’t shown a whole lot. His bat is not MLB-quality. It may never get there either.

Acuna had his playing time reduced much earlier than Mauricio. Several demotions throughout the season made it clear the Mets had no real plans for him other than depth. The club couldn’t even bear to put him in center field for more than 3 innings despite not getting much production at the position offensively or even on defense at times.

With many of these trade candidates, we can convince ourselves the Mets can find a taker. It’s more complicated with Acuna. He isn’t a year away from piecing it together in the minors. Not a single home run hit all of last year at either level, he barrelled only two balls in 141 tries.

Whether you’re an analytics guru or someone who believes results tell the clearer picture, you can’t be satisfied with what Acuna is doing.