2 Mets offseason decisions that will pay off, 1 that will backfire

NY Mets offseason decision that will backfire: Not making a drastic change at the DH spot

The Mets seem stuck in 2021 when it comes to the DH. They’re planning the position like a National League team when we all play by American League rules. This doesn’t mean they need to equip themselves with Nelson Cruz or J.D. Martinez although both were available this past offseason and never really seemed to become a realistic target of the team.

The Mets will, instead, move forward with Daniel Vogelbach as the DH. He’ll only start against right-handed pitchers which is a faux pas. When a player is a DH only, he needs to be able to hit against pitchers throwing with both hands, not one.

It’s nothing personal against Vogelbach, but to continue with such a limited player on the roster when there was a whole offseason to make a major change feels like a mistake. The Mets will try to pair some of their right-handed starters and Tommy Pham with him at the DH spot. The trouble here is Pham will need to go from playing every day to only starting versus lefties. Not every player can make the transition easily.

Although many teams don’t employ a single player to take on the majority of at-bats as the DH, the Mets could have used the Pham and Vogelbach roster spots more wisely. A single major upgrade in the outfield or third base would have been wise. Instead, the search for production continues. The team will be easy to plan against. We can only hope Vogelbach manages to finally figure out lefties in the minimal number of at-bats he’ll get against them.

We should already prepare for the Mets to spend assets at the trade deadline looking for some alternative options.