NY Mets hire former LA Dodgers player who looks like he can help two positions

The New York Mets coaching staff has a new member, A.J. Ellis. A longtime Los Angeles Dodgers catcher working both as the starter and a more specialized backstop during his time in Hollywood, it adds to the theme of bringing in coaches with actual big league experience.

NJ.com’s Max Goodman shared a few notes about what Ellis has been up to since playing as well as some of his achievements on the field, mostly with the Dodgers. Along with his connection to Andy Green as a player for the San Diego Padres late in his career, Ellis appears to be a match to help the Mets out at two positions.

Ellis is clearly a candidate to assist Francisco Alvarez behind the plate. In addition to that, his ability to get Deadball Era numbers out of Clayton Kershaw can’t be overlooked. Kershaw deserves the bulk of the credit. Could, maybe, Ellis find a way to tap into the brains of the pitching staff, too?

A.J. Ellis looks like he has a lot to bring to the Mets coaching staff

A role titled “major league strategy coordinator” doesn’t reveal enough about what his actual duties will be, but as an ex-big league catcher for an organization whose rising player at the position has hit a few roadblocks, we can assume working closely with Alvarez is a goal. He can probably pass along some knowledge to Luis Torrens as well. Specifically, if Torrens ends up as a more specialized catcher for one or two of the Mets starting pitchers, Ellis has the experience of working so closely with Kershaw to hand off wisdom there.

Catchers have a lot of responsbility. Even with technology entering the game, they’re the ones who need as good of a read on the situation as anyone. Their relationship with the pitching staff is critical for success. The Mets, with a growing number of pitchers making a case to stick around for several years, could use it.

When Alvarez got to the big leauges, he was the kid learning from the pitchers. His first full season was on a team that included starters Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Jose Quintana, and Carlos Carrasco. All seasoned, it’s only recently with the rise of Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton where Alvarez is looking like the elder statesman among newborns. Defensive regressions at times throughout the 162-game schedule have continually made everyone question whether Alvarez truly is built for the position or if he serves the Mets better as a part-time catcher who gets a lot of DH at-bats instead.

On the pitching side, we can't really diagnose any singular player Ellis may be able to assist. It's the entire pitching staff he should have some input with. While it's ex-pitchers who tend to get hired for that job, why wouldn't someone who worked with one of the generation's best be disallowed from speaking up? Ellis is a brain to pick and a voice to allow to speak at a loud volume.

An intentional and understandable move by the Mets, his already existing relationship with Green is helpful. The hire injects some jock into a team that needed more gym class and less AP Chemistry. So far, Green has shown to be a good blend of baseball nerd and athlete who has done it before. Hopefully, Ellis falls into the same rank.

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