Best Mets Playoffs Roster
Now that the Nationals are dead and buried (I really hope this does not come back to bite me in the ass), it is time to look at the best Mets playoffs roster they can assemble. Here goes:
Starters:
1B: Lucas Duda/Michael Cuddyer
2B: Daniel Murphy
3B: David Wright
SS: Wilmer Flores
LF: Michael Conforto
CF: Yoenis Cespedes
RF: Curtis Granderson
C: Travis d’Arnaud
Bench:
Juan Uribe
Kelly Johnson
Juan Lagares
Kevin Plawecki
Ruben Tejada
Rotation:
Matt Harvey
Jacob deGrom
Noah Syndergaard
Steven Matz
Bullpen:
Jeurys Familia
Tyler Clippard
Carlos Torres
Addison Reed
Sean Gilmartin
Bartolo Colon
Jonathon Niese
I have Cuddyer and Duda platooning at first. Cuddyer is hitting well lately (well, until his latest injury) because he is getting rest. He is no longer an everyday player. Duda has hit lefties decently this year, but Cuddyer might be a better weapon. As far as Cuddyer platooning with Conforto — forget it. Conforto is just too good to leave on the bench.
Flores should be starting ahead of Tejada. Tejada has had some timely hits, but Flores is a threat. With Flores in the lineup, there are no holes.
Fortunately, the need for only four starters means the Mets can carry an extra bench player. Leaving any of those guys out would have been tough.
The starting pitchers are obvious to anyone who watches this team. Colon is the seasoned veteran, but he can be erratic. I’d rather take my chances with Matz. And besides, Colon will be fine in relief.
Speaking of relievers, the odd men out are Erik Goeddel and Hansel Robles. I would be okay if they wanted to substitute one of those guys for Niese, although I would feel sorry for Niese to be left off the Mets playoffs roster after all the years he put in. But this is no time for sentiment. And depending on how Reed pitches down the stretch, he could also be a casualty for one of them.
I’ve got to hand it to Sandy Alderson — he finally put together a well-balanced team. Good hitting, excellent starting pitching and a potentially solid bullpen. The latter is the only thing that can do this team in.
The Mets are headed for October for the first time since 2006. Did I mention how I hope this does not come back to bite me in the ass?
I say take off Niese, Torres, and Gilmartin, and replace with Eric Young Jr, Goeddel, and Alvarez
No way Robles is left off the playoff roster. He throws strikes and has a bull mentality the others lack out of the pen. Torres or one of the starters will go before him.
Alvarez (LH specialist) is needed + Robles in the pen. Niese + Torres (injured?) are out.
I think Robles instead of Torres and then yes I agree with everything else. Gilmartin has proven more than Alvarez up until now, but we will see what happens in the next two weeks. It’d be great to see Young there for speed but I think it’ll be more valuable to have seven relievers rather than 15 hitters.