Elvis Andrus and 3 other free agent infielders to look at right now
The New York Mets suddenly have a need for a utility infielder. We can consider Brett Baty the replacement for Eduardo Escobar and Deven Marrero as the guy taking Luis Guillorme’s spot on the roster.
With no truly great options behind them, the Mets might want to dip into free agency and add one of the recently released veteran infielders now available. We’ll start with Elvis Andrus because A.J. Story is dying to know the answer.
1) NY Mets roster could use Elvis Andrus on it
Elvis Andrus was just released by the Oakland Athletics and one of the top names the Mets should be looking to add right away. Although he has never played anywhere but shortstop and that’s not the position the Mets need a replacement at necessarily, we can certainly expect him to be able to play some second base or third base if needed.
Andrus left the Athletics with a .237/.301/.373 slash line on the year with 8 home runs and 7 stolen bases. It’s actually not bad for a backup infielder. The question would be whether or not Andrus can perform the same way in a limited role.
While in Oakland, Andrus was playing regularly. He wouldn’t get to do so in New York. However, among all of the candidates out there, he might be the most productive bat at this point in his career.
As a 33-year-old right-handed hitter, it wouldn’t be so awful to have his bat on the bench for the occasional spot start on the infield and option to hit against a lefty when Darin Ruf isn’t available.
2) NY Mets roster doesn’t need Didi Gregorius quite as much
The decline of Didi Gregorius on defense makes him a much more natural player to transition from shortstop to either second base or third base. That doesn’t mean he’d be able to play either all that well. This is the big leagues. Every position is tough.
Gregorius does hit left-handed which makes him slightly less desirable than Andrus. With the Philadelphia Phillies this year, his offensive numbers were worse, too. He slashed .210/.263/.304 with only a single home run for Philadelphia. This came after a .209/.270/.370 performance in 408 plate appearances last year.
Gregorius is a much worse fit than Andrus simply because of the side he hits from. It feels like a deal-breaker. Knowing he also isn’t good defensively, one would have to wonder if the Mets signing him would have any purpose at all. Daniel Vogelbach would hit over him and so would Tyler Naquin. Gregorius might be a better hitter than Marrero right now but it’s only slight.
We’ll have to pass on the idea of bringing this former New York Yankees infielder to Flushing. But maybe, if we wanted to be a little obnoxious, the Mets could sign him for only the Subway Series next week.
Let’s not be petty, though. Andrus is much better. What about the other guys available?
3) NY Mets roster does feel like a fit for Alcides Escobar
Wouldn’t that be something? With Noah Syndergaard now on the Phillies, the Mets bring in Alcides Escobar. Their 2015 World Series faceoff showed off just how tough Syndergaard was; a big difference from the Thor we see today.
Escobar has been in a more limited role over the last two seasons with the Washington Nationals. He’s playing more than shortstop which is a good thing for the Mets if he’s the one to target. Last year, Escobar did hit .288/.340/.404 in 349 chances. This season, however, he batted only .218/.260/.282 in 131 trips to the plate.
Escobar is a huge downgrade offensively from Guillorme and even the current version of Andrus the Mets would receive. Defensively, the only real advantage he has over Escobar is experience at other spots. Andrus is still the better ballplayer at this stage but Escobar might be more inclined to sign with the Mets in this limited role.
It’s a pretty close race between the two. If the plan is to the addition regularly, Andrus is the target. If the Mets just want a body to use in case of an emergency, Escobar wouldn’t be so bad.
Andrus remains in the lead for now with a small margin over victory over Escobar. The idea of moving him from an everyday player to a bench role is intriguing enough to see if maybe there is an improvement.
4) NY Mets roster might want to take a stab at Andrelton Simmons
Andrelton Simmons had the worst season of all of the players on this list. He hit .173/.244/.187 as a member of the Chicago Cubs in only 85 plate appearances. He spent most of the season hurt so to sign him now to replace an injured player doesn’t feel like the right move to make.
However, Simmons might still be the best defensive player among these names. In a part-time role where he’s a second base or shortstop option off the bench, it’s not such a ridiculous addition to make.
But given the two straight seasons of unproductive action at the plate and injuries this year, he’s probably best to stay away from. Simmons’ bat has never been all that great and aside from being able to avoid strikeouts, there’s not much to like.
So this must mean Andrus is the answer. He seems to have the most ingredients the current Mets bench could use. The only risk is that he can’t adjust to the other positions which seems unlikely.
One team’s trash could be a treasure for the Mets this year; or at least a nice part of the roster to give them depth they’re missing right now.
Expect Billy Eppler to make a couple of phone calls and have some medical PDFs sent over to him in the coming days.