3 ROSTER MOVES THAT CAN HELP FIX THE METS SEASON

by Tim Fitzpatrick June 10, 2018

Things are brutal of late. Following another late-inning loss to the Yankees on Saturday to make it eight losses in a row, the Mets are now 8.5 games behind Washington in the NL East. A Wild Card spot is just as distant, with eight other teams between the Mets and a playoff spot.

Congratulations to the San Diego Padres, who now have a better record than the Mets. In the National League, only the Reds and Marlins are worse.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 10, 2018

But in reality, there’s still a lot of baseball to play; three and a half month’s worth, in fact. Though it feels unlikely right now, turning the season around is not entirely out of the question. However, something needs to change in order for that to happen. The options are limited, but let’s see what the Mets can do to try to save their season.

DFA Jose Reyes

We’ve been over this time and time again, but Jose Reyes is an all-around minus on this team, and it’s very unlikely that’s going to change. The Mets need to be proactive about fixing their god-awful hitting, and testing someone from AAA as a backup infielder will almost certainly provide more value than Reyes. Jose has done nothing to earn his spot on the Major League roster, and it’s time the Mets cut bait to try to salvage this season.

So here's the deal with Reyes: Mets have discussed getting him on board with a retirement news conference as one way to manage his exit.

Unclear if he will agree to retire.https://t.co/xSP3TLADvl
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) June 10, 2018

Although he's currently on the DL, Gavin Cecchini looked good in 30 games with Las Vegas this season. Slashing .294/.342/.468 with 14 extra-base hits and only 15 strikeouts. Once healthy, he may be the best option for a call-up.

Release Adrian Gonzalez

Adrian Gonzalez’s .684 OPS this season ranks 30th among first basemen with at least 100 PA’s, and even his glove is not what it used to be, resulting in -0.4 dWAR. He’s served admirably as a fill-in until a better option came along (we all figured it would be Dom Smith), but a platoon of a soon-to-return Wilmer Flores and Jay Bruce could do the trick.

Though Bruce’s 2018 has been pretty poor so far, he’s here for the next three years, so they might as well get what they can out of him. A combination of Bruce vs. righties and Flores vs. lefties (who is expected to return during the Mets’ upcoming road trip) will almost certainly be an upgrade over the washed-up Gonzalez, and the financial burden of cutting Gonzo is minimal. First base is a premium position for offense, and the Mets need more from there.

Demote Michael Conforto

Full Disclosure: I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS IDEA, BUT IT’S BEING DISCUSSED.

This will obviously be delayed a bit now that Yoenis Cespedes’ return from the DL may be pushed back, but Conforto needs to get right, as the only thing he seems to be able to do right now is take walks. As MLB Trade Rumors indicates, Conforto’s wOBA, exit velocity, and line drive rate are all down, indicating that he’s not just suffering from bad luck. Hopefully, Conforto figures his problems out before Cespedes’ return and this is a non-issue, but if he continues to struggle, he may be Vegas-bound.