Ranking 3 internal Mets DH candidates to pair with Daniel Vogelbach

Daniel Vogelbach has a strange spot on the New York Mets roster. He only fits as a platoon player. He can only start against righties.

It’s limiting. On a lesser team with smaller aspirations, you can get away with it. The Mets have a much bigger goal in mind than to give the fans a good show in 2023. They want to win it all. With Vogelbach remaining with the team for now, the team is going to need to find the best righty they can to pair with him at the DH spot.

Previous reports of the club looking internally for an answer may come true although the latest rumors about them having an interest in J.D. Martinez and Michael Conforto could hint at a much different direction. The Mets are certainly not short on those options. So, when the 2023 season begins, what will Buck Showalter’s plan be? Let’s rank those internal options.

3) NY Mets DH candidate when a lefty starts: Mark Vientos

Platooning Mark Vientos with Daniel Vogelbach next year isn’t a bad plan. What feels wrong about it is how limited Vientos then becomes. We’re all aware of the defensive situation for him. Once a third base prospect, he’s now seen more as a future DH or maybe first baseman if he’s on a team with an opening.

Here’s the trouble with these two pairing up: the Mets suddenly have two players on the roster limited defensively. They can get by, however, it limits some creative thinking for Buck Showalter. He can’t pinch run for players or make defensive substitutions. When your team has two DHs on the roster, the manager gets handcuffed.

More problematic is it will delay Vientos’ growth. The Mets probably will look to trade him at some point. There’s just no place to put him other than make him the full-time DH in the future.

Only facing lefties will stunt the ability of Vientos to become a more complete player. It’s the kind of move to make later in the year when you have no other options, like in 2022. To start the season with this plan is flawed.

1) NY Mets DH candidate when a lefty start: Francisco Alvarez

This is kind of like the previous plan except it includes a whole lot more of Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez should be in the mix if the Mets rotate through with different righties. He would, however, be the optimal choice to move from behind the plate to be the DH.

There are a lot of reasons for this. His ability play defensive is something we’re all curious to see more about. Whomever the other catcher or catchers the Mets carry to begin the year, Alvarez should be in the mix to squat behind home plate but also to get at-bats frequently versus lefties.

It’s important the Mets both give him enough time to develop and don’t throw him into the fire. There are plenty of roster decisions left to make before the start of the season. We should all be curious to see if the Mets actually would seriously consider carrying three catchers on the Opening Day roster. Can they dump James McCann this offseason or maybe swap Tomas Nido for a halfway decent bullpen arm?

No matter what the catching situation is, putting Alvarez in as the DH versus lefties frequently is appealing. We don’t want the number one prospect in Major League Baseball to take any time off from hitting. As long as he’s doing well enough, he should be a favorite choice to replace Vogelbach against any southpaw who dares to face the Mets.