Mets depth chart: 2 players moving up, 2 moving down

The proverbial New York Mets depth chart which is less factual and more rhetorical has undergone both real and hypothetical changes in the last few days. The arrival of J.D. Martinez on Friday shook things up in a big way. He’ll take at-bats away from a number of players who had been playing more than anticipated and in a variety of roles. Those players who will see less action between the lines as a result aren’t really moving down the depth chart all that much. They should, instead, settle in where they were meant to be.

What about everyone else? These two players are performing well and should get more chances. Meanwhile, these other two are in a bit of a slump and look less important.

Tomas Nido is moving up the Mets depth chart

A home run on Friday caught many of us off-guard. Wasn’t Tomas Nido done as a big league hitter? He is easily one of the weaker hitters to pass through the Mets roster in recent seasons. However, Nido seems to have some clutch DNA in him, too.

So far Nido has gone 3 for 11 in his 5 games played. A major upgrade defensively and most noticeably when it comes to throwing out runners, most fans will agree it’s not much of a difference between him and their other option.

It’s not hard for Nido to move up the depth chart when his only competition at the moment is Omar Narvaez. In the absence of Francisco Alvarez, the Mets might have the pair split time a little more evenly as long as Nido can continue to hit. The bar is set fairly low for the catching tandem right now. Nido has already risen to the occasion and we’ll keep our fingers crossed he isn’t a complete black hole in the lineup.

Tyrone Taylor is moving up the Mets depth chart

Despite the arrival of Martinez, we shouldn’t move Tyrone Taylor down the depth chart. On the contrary, move him up somewhere closer to the same level as Harrison Bader and well above DJ Stewart.

Taylor has been one of the better hitters on the Mets. It’s not even a matter of him facing a whole bunch of lefties to pad the numbers. Righty. Lefty. Amdidextrous. Amphibious. Put anyone you want on the mound. Have them burp the ball at him. Taylor will find a way to produce.

Taylor enters Sunday batting .321/.351/.491 on the year with an .842 OPS. For whatever it’s worth, that’s two points higher than Pete Alonso. He happens to trail the Polar Bear by only one RBI too despite significantly less playing time. Add in his immaculate defense and the Mets have a true gem on the roster many underrated.

What Mets fans seem to appreciate about Taylor most is how he’s doing all of these things so well with athleticism. He’s not a clunky slugger who’ll only go first to third if the ball gets lost in the Wrigley Field ivy. Taylor can run and he’s using his legs on the bases and with the glove. It’s especially helpful on a roster that now has three DHs on it.

The Mets need to seriously have him share as much playing time as possible with Bader. Bader has gone a bit cold after a successful streak. Both guys have their weaknesses, but Taylor with better power and at least this year a better eye at the plate should have him in the outfield regularly.

Adrian Houser is moving down the Mets depth chart

Adrian Houser is bound to have a good start eventually. Now done for April, he has fallen so far down the Mets depth chart the team needs to begin seriously considering a change. Jose Butto and Tylor Megill are the pair who should be fighting for a rotation spot against only each other. Either seems more than capable of bumping Houser out of the rotation and into the bullpen.

Saturday’s loss pushed Houser to 0-3 on the year with an 8.37 ERA. His 16 walks versus 14 strikeouts is atrocious and takes no real deep dive into understanding what’s going so wrong with his season. It’s not just all of the free passes either, though. Batters are hitting .302 against him. The only thing he has done well is avoid home runs. Only one has been knocked against him.

It wouldn’t actually be the worst thing for the Mets to find Houser in their bullpen. The other starters’ inability to go multiple innings can allow Houser to become an asset. First, he’ll need to prove he can even get through the order one time through. This was not the case on Saturday when he allowed 4 earned runs in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Once a fan of Houser’s and the decision to bring him over, there is nothing left for me to defend. He has been the most frustrating player on the team this year. He gives the team no chance to win ball games. This cannot go on much longer.