Amed Rosario’s defensive struggles have emerged as a point of concern for the scuffling Mets, who will weigh what to do with the shortstop if he can’t correct his errors soon. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post outlines the problem, writing that general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who has been aggressive in his first year at the helm, cannot afford to keep Rosario in the lineup for much longer when his lackluster defense could cost the club crucial wins. Rosario, just 23 years of age, is still a developing player and sustained reps could be the best remedy to his early-season challenges. However, a competitive Mets team that finds itself in the thick of a heated division race may run out of patience with Rosario, who is not hitting enough to quell the defensive concerns. To be sure, Davidoff notes that Rosario went eight straight games without an error before Saturday, when his two errors didn’t help the Mets’ cause in a marathon loss to the Brewers. The Mets are not yet considering a demotion—it will take another week or more before that becomes a serious possibility, per Davidoff—but Rosario could get a few days off if he can’t correct things in the next few games. Rosario has already accumulated -11 DRS—last season, he checked in at -16—and the Mets have Adeiny Hechavarria and Luis Guillorme as backup options, if it comes to that.
Here’s the latest news from around the NL East…
- Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde will be deployed as a reliever moving forward, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASN. After an impressive 4-inning outing against the Padres last week—his first Major League relief appearance—the club has decided that he will continue to work out of the bullpen in Double-A rather than returning to the Harrisburg rotation. The plan is for Fedde to rejoin the Nationals soon, in hopes that he will help remedy a bullpen that has arguably been the worst in the Majors.
- The Nationals will have to work around yet another injury, as Matt Adams was placed on the 10-day IL with a left shoulder strain on Saturday, recalling infielder Jake Noll. Meanwhile, the team will certainly welcome a piece of good news: Anthony Rendon is expected to rejoin the team on Tuesday, when he is eligible to return from his stint on the injured list, per Todd Dybas of NBC Sports. Rendon had been dealing with an elbow contusion that refused to heal, but he was finally able to take swings, indicating that a return is on the horizon.
- The Mets’ bullpen took another hit on Saturday, as southpaw Luis Avilan was placed on the 10-day IL with elbow tightness, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. Avilan, who has posted a dismal 9.28 ERA in 2019, joins fellow bullpen arms Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson on the injured list. Tim Peterson and Tyler Bashlor were promoted to replace Chris Flexen and Ryan O’Rourke, both of whom were optioned to the minors. Flexen took Avilan’s place for Saturday’s game because Peterson and Bashlor were unavailable.
- In a stroke of bad luck, Marlins OF/1B Garrett Cooper finds himself once again on the injured list, this time with a left hand contusion, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. After a calf strain held him out of action for a month, Cooper returned on April 30, only to be hit in the hand by a pitch, causing the injury. Peter O’Brien has been recalled from Triple-A to replace Cooper, who has been limited to just 4 appearances so far this season.
yessir2020
Cooper can’t catch a break
Strike Four
Rosario and Dom Smith for what good SP on a non-contender?
24TheKid
Why would a team trade a good starting pitcher for either?
DarkSide830
Smith has been productive so far in the majors, and was impressive in spring. Perhaps there is something there.
Bocephus
Best to ask mikeyank55
mikeyank55
Ok Bo, now it is time for you to break away from your therapist and answer the questions for yourself. You are ready to offer everyone your simple mind opinion.
No fear of childhood punishments for making the wrong decision. We are kind of expecting it as a mets fan.
findingnimmo
Say what?
Mkinsella8
Rosario, lower prospect in the top 15-20 range, and Vargas(contract is over after this season) for Bum (rental), Tony Watson and Crawford (still due a total of 30 mill over 2020 and 2021).
DarkSide830
i would imagine the Giants would at least want a 10-15 prospect. its not like Crawford is a salary dump, he’s perhaps the best defender at short on the NL and decent enough with the bat.
Mkinsella8
He may be a great defender, but 30 million for an aging ss (what is he like 32?) on a rebuilding team… theyd be fine trading him. You’d get Rosario back, who obviously is having some fielding issues, but was a top 5 prospect like 2 seasons ago and hes only 23. Its probably just a rough patch and NY lights are getting to him.
padam
Rosario was a top five for the Mets (BA) until being promoted. He was known for his defense, but apparently it’s having trouble this year. It was his offense that was questionable at the ML level.
He’s better than the alternatives the Mets have, and I’d just say let him play through it. He just needs time – he’s still finding himself and is young. Takes time to develop…
Mkinsella8
I agree, but Bumgarner and Crawford would put us as the favorites for the divison right away. Plus we have a SS prospect who is going to be a top 20 mlb prospect by next year
walls17
do you think crawford is good? he is not good.
Bocephus
Crawford’s glove is still elite!
walls17
they already have hech which is the same production basically for a tenth of the price. if you want an all glove, no hit shortstop then just stick with hech
mikeyank55
Good point walls. They will stick with heck and dump all glove Crawford for a song and dance.
When he gets to his next team they will develop him into a complete player and Mets fans will be disappointed once again.
findingnimmo
Again, say what? U ok there bud?
Mkinsella8
Crawford wasnt added because I think he is very good. Hes a starting caliber player though and the Giants would love to trade him because he is aging and is due 2 more years at 30 million. The idea was to offset the Bumgarner and Watson part. Also the Vargas contract would give us some short term relief if we need another addition this trade deadline. Sure the Mets would be paying heavily for a rental SP,RP, and an aging ss with a bad contract… but this trade would certainly put us as NL East favorites this year and would also give us room for our upcoming SS top prospect in 1-2 seasons when Crawford is probably a bench caliber player.
LongTimeFan1
Rosario became MLB Pipeline’s #1 prospect during the season several years ago – not just the Mets #1.
getright11
Proof?
lettersandnumbersonly
Dave Martinez’s days are numbered. Hes a good guy and injuries have dealt him a rough hand. But he wasnt/isn’t ready to be a major league level manager. Dusty? Come back
carlos15
How is it an entire bullpen can be hurt by May?
siddfinch1079
Hopefully Peter O’Brien can be a decent stop-gap for the Marlins until Cooper returns, but it won’t be with the glove, as I’ve heard he doesn’t draw many rave reviews with his defense…