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3 Mets players who have earned our trust

By Tim Boyle |
New York Mets v Miami Marlins
New York Mets v Miami Marlins / Mark Brown/GettyImages
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Trust I seek and I find in these New York Mets players.

The Mets have a lot of new faces on the roster. A reason for it: management didn’t trust the familiar ones anymore. Some of those returning players will have a chance to regain the trust of the front office and fans. Others won’t even get the opportunity and will find a home in the doghouse if they even remain with the organization.

There are, however, three Mets I think have a near universal trust. Flawed in some ways, their performance has been steady enough for us to head into 2022 knowing we can rely on them.

If you don’t trust Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom you can’t trust anyone

There isn’t a pitcher in the game with a more productive and reliable career than Jacob deGrom. Even his new teammate Max Scherzer had years early on where he didn’t look like ace-material.

Already an all-time great Mets player after parts of eight big league seasons, deGrom has reached a level few ever can. He is beyond the boo. He gets the benefit of the doubt every time out. When you see his name on the lineup card, you know you’re going to get a strong effort.

If there is one thing we don’t trust about him fully it’s his health. deGrom missed half of the 2021 season. Will he be able to return to 2022 fully healthy?

A completely injury-free year may not be possible and that’s fine. deGrom has missed a few starts in the past and still excelled. It’s what he does.

Faith is often blinded to a degree. In deGrom’s case, we’ve seen it before. I’m certain we’ll see it again.

New York Mets v Milwaukee Brewers
New York Mets v Milwaukee Brewers / John Fisher/GettyImages

Pete Alonso’s career is young but he has given us plenty of reasons to believe in him

The monster 2019 season Pete Alonso put together complete with 53 home runs may never happen again. That was a season where balls flew like no other. Not just anyone can hit that many home runs. You still need some sort of raw power. Alonso, during the past two seasons, has shown he possesses this tool.

An average of 46 home runs per 162 games after his first 370 in the big leagues should have us thinking positively about the Polar Bear. He may not always reach 40 as was the case in 2021 when he settled for 37. However, with a similar slash line when compared to his 2019 season aside from a dip in his slugging, there’s reason to believe Alonso will remain productive each year.

There are two notable differences to point out in regards to Alonso. He has become a better defender at first base which certainly helps the Mets in a way some didn’t think he ever could. The big knock against the big guy when he was in the minor leagues was the way he played the field. He has been above average in multiple defensive statistics in each of his two full seasons with only the shortened 2020 campaign reflecting his old reputation as a butcher.

Alonso has also cut down on his strikeouts. From an average of 26.4% per plate appearance in 2019 down to 19.9% in 2021, he’s putting the ball in play much more often. We’ll just have to hope a few more connect on the barrel and don’t result in double play groundouts.

One thing is for sure: Alonso will hit for power and drive in runs. He has my trust.

New York Mets v Milwaukee Brewers
New York Mets v Milwaukee Brewers / John Fisher/GettyImages

I don’t trust Brandon Nimmo to stay healthy but I trust everything else about him

The only reason why Brandon Nimmo may not be one of the league’s brightest stars is how few games he has played. He has only a single season with more than 100 games played. After six years, this is far too few.

Nimmo was hurt yet again last year, playing in only 92 games for the Mets. This was actually the season where we saw him the second-most both in terms of games played and plate appearances.

He has actually come a long way from his breakout campaign in 2018 which saw him slash .263/.404/.483. He’s not relying on walks or hit by pitches nearly as much to get his OBP over .400. Combining his 2020 and 2021 seasons (for 147 games), he’s hitting .288/.402/.454. He can hit lefty pitchers now, too.

And just like Alonso, Nimmo isn’t the bad defender he was thought to be—at least in center field. Nimmo got a lot better at playing the most difficult outfield position. More than likely bound to a corner spot for at least the coming year, we can at least have some trust that if Starling Marte did get hurt the Mets would have a suitable replacement.

For those who still don’t trust Nimmo, the 2022 season will hopefully sway you. It’s his free agent campaign. It’s now or never.

Next. The 11 best starting pitcher trade candidates for the Mets. dark

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