Showalter: The Mets do not rule out the possibility of adding to the field

The Mets were one of the most active teams in the league before the shutdown, and much of their early season work came off the field. Only hours after agreeing to the terms of the corner player Mark Kanha In a two-year deal, the Mets reached an agreement with the midfielder Starling Mart on a four-year agreement.

Despite this broad activity, new manager Buck Showalter said he and general manager Billy Ebler had not ruled out the possibility of making further additions. “[The outfield] is something we talked about, where are we,Showalter for reporters (including Mike Puma from the New York Post) at the Minor League camp in New York this afternoon. “We are on the same page with everything related to that. It’s a scenario we check to see if we feel comfortable with it. We’ll always look inside first.“

Obviously, this falls short of announcing that the Mets will definitely add outside assistance whenever the transaction freeze is over. However, it is notable that they at least kept this door open despite a lot of interior options. Canha appears to be the supposed favorite to work on the left field, while Marte appears to be playing in the middle. This would pay Brandon Nemo Right, though, the current Mets quarterback doesn’t seem too fond of this alignment.

talk with Tim Healy from Newsday This week, Nemo suggested he would prefer to stay center field. The 28-year-old noted that public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average both ranked him an extra last season. It was Nimmo’s best defensive performance underestimating those stats, a marked improvement over the -5 DRS and -4 OAA of 2020. Nimmo suggested the rise is evidence that “If you give me information, and if you allow me to make adjustments, I will give it my all. I was very proud of the difference in numbers from ’20 to ’21 and I did what they asked me to do and improve there.. “

Nemo, who is entering his final year of officiating eligibility, also admitted to Healy that playing in a midfield could be an added bonus as he is on his way to accessing free agency next winter. The former first-round pick said he would be open to discussing an extension with the Mets after the shutdown, but said the team and its Boras representatives did not begin those discussions in the early stages of the Offseason.

Whether the Mets will oblige Nemo’s desire to stay in the middle, of course, remains an open question. He would have a little other recourse to play a place off the field if the Mets had him put him in the squad there, and he told Healey he’s willing to do whatever the team asks for anyway. However, it is clear from his comments that Nemo values ​​the opportunity to continue playing in the middle, so Showalter and his crew will need to decide how they want to rank that group on a regular basis. Marty was an excellent left-footed player earlier in his career, but hasn’t started a single game away from center since 2017. There’s no doubt he’s been able to successfully recalibrate to a corner point if necessary, but the Mets may prefer his defensive alignment with Marty. Central and Nemo in the corner.

As Showalter suggested today, there is also potential for additional changes from an employee perspective. New York could look into more freight forwarders or commercial pickups, although it seems likely that these will be diversified in depth given the moves they’ve already made. The Mets also have a high-profile trio Trade candidates With off the field experience. Whoever Jeff McNeillAnd the J.D. Davis And the Dominic Smith Playing left or right field in the past years. They are supposed to be options to see some time there again, but the Mets can look to move one or more members of that group after closing.