Ranking 3 internal Mets DH candidates to pair with Daniel Vogelbach

2) NY Mets DH candidate when a lefty starts: Rotate the righty starters

Pete Alonso, Mark Canha, and even Starling Marte should all get chances to DH in 2023. Give Francisco Lindor a day of rest at shortstops. Hand him a bat and ask him to do what he does well on that side of the ball for a couple of plate appearances.

This isn’t such a horrific plan. Vientos can get mixed in if he’s on the major league roster. The point of it is to not have a single player committed to the platoon as the Mets did with Darin Ruf in late 2022.

Everyone can benefit from this plan. The roster spot which would have normally been taken up by a single player can be utilized more wisely. The Mets can carry a strong defender for the outfield. They can stash another utility man on the roster and even look to rotate him around the field.

What I like about pairing Vogelbach with any righty who needs a break is how much more open the Mets roster feels. A part of what made the platoon in the final months of 2022 so unappealing was that the team would run out of defensive options very quickly.

With so many candidates already with the club, I can see why they may want to go internal. Vogelbach doesn’t need one single player to take his lineup spot each night when a lefty is on the mound. Throw darts at a board. Decide who needs to be off their feet a little extra.