2011 NY Mets Spring Training
The Battle for Second Base
The Contenders:
Luis Castillo- .235/.337/.267, 0 HR, 17 RBI, 6.7 UZR/150, 0. 6 WAR, $6 million, 35 years old
Daniel Murphy- .266/.313/.427, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 1.0 WAR, $400K, 26 years old
Brad Emaus- .290/.397/.476, 15 HR, 75 RBI (between AA and AAA), $400K, 25 years old
The Underdog:
Justin Turner- .316/.374/.487, 12 HR, 43 RBI (at AAA), $400K, 26 years old
The Long Shots:
Ruben Tejada- .213/.305/.282, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 1.2 UZR/150, -0.4 WAR, $400K, 21 years old
Chin-lung Hu- .317/.339/.436, 4 HR, 37 RBI (at AAA), $400K, 27 years old
Normally, a team will have two or three players competing for a position in Spring Training. The Mets, who have had a hole at second base for the past few years, will have as many as six different players competing for the second base job. Each player has his strengths and weaknesses and will have a chance to win the job.
Luis Castillo has been the Mets starting second baseman since the middle of the 2007 season. Castillo has had knee problems and is no longer an elite defender. As a result of his injury issues, 2009 is the only year in which he played over 100 games with the Mets. Castillo did hit .302 that season, but has struggled offensively during the rest of his tenure. One reason that Castillo has stuck around is because of his contract although new GM Sandy Alderson has said that he is not afraid to cut players with money remaining on their deals.
Daniel Murphy exploded onto the scene as a 23 year old in 2008 hitting .313 in 131 at-bats. This was enough to win Murphy the first base job for 2009. Murphy was hurt entering 2010 and had to begin the season in the minors. His minor league season was cut short after he tore his MCL while playing second base. Murphy has a lot of potentially offensively and he is still young.
Brad Emaus is an unknown. The Mets claimed him in the Rule V Draft this offseason. Emaus played most of last season in Las Vegas with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate. It has been known that their home park does inflate offensive numbers. Emaus did not have an error in his 33 games played as a second baseman. His defensive abilities have been called in to question however.
Justin Turner impressed the management of the Mets organization with his ability to get on base and his power. Turner is a career .309 hitter in his minor league career. He has the ability to play multiple positions for the Mets which does help his chances of making the team.
Ruben Tejada was the third youngest player in the National League last season. He showed that even at age 20, he could hold his own defensively. Tejada is the best defensive player out of the group of candidates. However, the problem is that Tejada’s bat is not major league ready. Tejada struggled and looked overmatched at the plate. There has also been talk that Tejada may replace Reyes at short should he leave via free agency after the season.
Chin-lung Hu was acquired from the Dodgers this offseason for minor league pitcher Michael Antonini. Hu has had four stints in the majors with the Dodgers, and in his longest stint, he failed to prove himself, hitting just .181 in 116 at bats in 2008. It is not as if Hu has not shown the ability to produce offensively. He has a career .299 average in the minors. Hu has struggled a bit defensively at times. This is evident from his 109 errors in 712 games at second base in the minors.
If Daniel Murphy is able to show that he is healthy, he should be able to make the Mets major league roster out of Spring Training. In regards to whether or not he starts at second, it will depend on if he can show that he can handle the position defensively. That may only leave one more roster spot for a player listed above.
The competition will likely come down to Castillo, Emaus, and Turner. The one advantage Castillo has over the others is his large contract. Emaus is a Rule V Draft pick and if he is not on the major league roster, he would need to either be returned to the Blue Jays or the Mets would need to work out a trade for him. Turner is the only one in the group that has experience at shortstop. This is an advantage because he would be able to spell Jose Reyes.
For now, it appears that the advantage might go to Justin Turner because he can fill in at both middle infield positions. There is a decent chance that unless he has a strong Spring Training, Luis Castillo will be cut. Emaus’ chance at winning a roster spot might have more to do with Oliver Perez than anything else. If the Mets decide not to cut Perez they will carry 13 pitchers. If Sandy Alderson does decide that it is time to part ways with Oliver Perez, then an extra bench spot will be available. Emaus would likely be fighting with Nick Evans for that last spot.
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Justin Turner, The Forgotten [Second Base] Man
AUTHOR: Ben Berkon | IN: Mets | COMMENTS: None Yet |
When it comes to the New York Mets vacant second base job, fans and the media often focus on candidates like Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy, and Brad Emaus. While there is no doubt the above three have the best shot at breaking Spring with a starting job, there is still a forgotten man in this middle infield fight. Justin Turner, who was claimed off waivers last season from the Baltimore Orioles, will not only vie for a roster spot, but is also a legitimate dark horse candidate to nail down the starting second base gig.
Turner, who is 26 years-old, was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2006 draft. The second baseman had a variety of solid seasons in the minors, posting a career .309/.373/.442/.815 line in 5 minor league seasons. His best performance, however, came once he arrived in Triple-A for the Mets. Turner posted a sensational .333/.390/.516/.906 line with 11 HR, 35 RBI, 58 R, and 5 SB in 348 PA’s in Triple-A.
Despite Turner’s impressive Triple-A stint–including a riveting final game where he went 6-for-6, and hit for the cycle–his September call-up was nowhere to be found. What more could a minor leaguer do to get a call to the show? As disappointing as the so-called “snub” was, it obviously hasn’t affected Turner’s motivation or more importantly, the recognition he’s been receiving from the new folks in charge of the Mets. Terry Collins, the Mets manager said, “People are not mentioning him, but he’s [...] having a very, very good winter. He had a very good finish in Triple-A. So we’ve got to include him in that [second base] mix.”
Collins isn’t the only person giving Turner some love. Moises Alou, the former New York Mets outfielder and current general manager of the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican winter league, said, “Justin has been amazing [in winter ball]. I’ve told [Terry Collins] you should take a look at this guy. He’s a gamer and you’d like him a lot. I wish every player on this team was like him.”
Justin Turner will need a lot more than positive praise to make the Mets–or better yet, start for them–but if the infielder continues to hit and prove his value, he’ll certainly force the Mets to make a tough decision come opening day.
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Collins said infield coach Chip Hale tells him Murphy has made progress even since the start of camp.
“The other guys we know have played a lot of second base,” Collins said. “Every day [Hale] works with Murphy, he comes in and he’ll say, ‘Gosh, he’s getting better around the bag.’ Now it’s the time to see when the game speeds up, when we get out there when they’re actually running the bases, to see how he handles it.”
Asked for a defensive assessment of the Rule 5 pick Emaus, who appears the frontrunner, with Murphy on the team in some capacity, Collins said: “I haven’t seen him in a game, either. So it’s unfair.”
As for practice, though, the manager added about Emaus: “I’ve watched him turn double plays. He’s got very good hands. I like his feet around the bag. I think he’s got good-enough footwork to play second base. I mean, he’s here because the people who scouted him say he can hit, and he can hit the ball out of the ballpark.”
Turner has two minor league options remaining, which means he can be sent to Triple-A Buffalo without being exposed to waivers. That puts him at a pronounced disadvantage.
“I’ve seen him,” Collins said, referring to last year overseeing the minors. “I know he can hit. That’s going to be a fun thing to watch, because there are four guys who have very good offensive potential, and it’s going to be about who’s going to take it. Who’s going to go out and win it.”
Collins continues to exclude Chin-lung Hu, who should beat out Luis Hernandez for the backup middle infield role, from the second-base competition. Ideally, the manager added, the second baseman would be capable enough defensively that Hu would not even need to be a late defensive substitution.
“The one thing that Chin-lung Hu brings to this, if those guys are only there for their bats — which they’re not going to be — we do have a defensive guy who can go in there who we know is going to play outstanding defense,” Collins said.
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