The Mets used the offseason to make many impact acquisitions as well as retain some of their own star players. However, they did not make a change in an area they could probably improve: the designated hitter position.
As it stands now, the Mets head into spring training with the same deadline after trading a DH platoon of Daniel Fogelbach and It has a reputation.
Despite having the same veteran duo on the roster likely to share the job, GM Billy Eppler would not commit to this platoon and says the role of DH has not yet been defined.
“I would say the DH position is undecided,” Eppler told Inside the Mets by phone. “We have a number of players who contributed to it last year, but I would say it’s uncertain.
“There are a few different ways we can use DH on any given night. We used it for workload and match management purposes. That’s ultimately what we’ll use spring training and talking to the coaching staff to figure out.”
Assuming the Mets decide to run the same platoon, Vogelbach posted a productive .829 OPS against left-handed pitching with the Mets last season, while Roof struggled against righties with an anemic .413 OPS.
But as awful as Roof’s 29 games with the Mets were last season, Eppler and the front office believe he can rebound based on his record.
“He has a long history of hitting left-handed,” Eppler said. “He was hitting left-handed in 2022 and 2021. Unless some things have changed significantly, we can bet that skill is still there in him.”
Roof has a career .891 OPS against left-handed pitching. Before being traded to the Mets, he posted an .826 OPS against lefties for the San Francisco Giants in 2022.
Beyond Ruf, Eppler and the Mets were very pleased with what they saw from Vogelbach across the platoon.
“I reached out to Vogey over the winter and he did a good job for us after the trade deadline,” Eppler said.
“I think he was one of the most impactful bats moved at the deadline, even if you measure it against some of the bats that weren’t moved that were rumored to be moved. He was up there in OPS.”
The Mets picked up Vogelbach’s $1.5 million club option earlier in the offseason.
Some other candidates who could see time in the DH role include Pete Alonsofor load management purposes and Tommy Pham and Edward Escobar for their division against leftists.
Exciting young star doesn’t appear to be a candidate to compete for the DH spot in spring training: top catcher prospect Francisco Alvarez.
“We see Francisco as a long-term catcher,” Eppler said of Alvarez. “So you couldn’t develop a guy as a catcher if he was playing the designated hitter role full time.”
And that’s all. The Mets want Alvarez to develop his framing and receiving skills as a catcher, which means he won’t be in the mix as a DH candidate.
Finally, it looks like the Mets are done moving players for the offseason.
“Our roster is pretty well filled out, with not a lot of flexibility left on the position players side,” Eppler said.
“There’s a number of guys that we’ve either acquired or are under guaranteed contracts, so I think it’s not too hard to start writing out the depth chart. It’s not a complete picture, but it’s most of the way there, and we’ll be looking to define those roles in spring training.”
With just 16 days until pitchers and catchers report, it appears the Mets are done making moves and have an “undefined” DH role they want to get clarity on during spring training.
Read more:
– Jacob deGrom told Buck Showalter there was a “real” story behind leaving the Mets
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– These Mets prospects made MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list
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