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MLB New York Mets

Eric Young Jr. Still Has a Future With New York Mets

By @mturnerny

Eric Young Jr New York Mets

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

With the addition of Michael Cuddyer, the New York Mets are quickly filling up their outfield. Juan Legares and Curtis Granderson are expected to be the starting outfielders, alongside Cuddyer, right now, but they also have Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Matt den Dekker and Eric Young Jr. For both of their brief, and inconsistent, major-league careers, Nieuwenhuis and den Dekker have been bench players who were used in late innings for their defensive prowess. Anything they added at the plate was a bonus, and that will probably be the case with them in 2015.

The lone question mark here is Young. After the Mets traded for him, he gave them a boost to their offense, stealing 38 bases and scoring 48 runs in 91 games. He was the Mets’ primary left fielder and nearly won a Gold Glove. His playing time decreased in 2014 due to his inability to maintain a respectable batting average. Since he doesn’t have the offensive potential of Granderson, for instance, his low average wasn’t tolerated as long. He became a bench player who was used almost exclusively as a pinch runner.

Young still fared well on the bases in his new role as he led the team with 30 steals. But going forward, it seems he may lose even more playing time as he ages and Nieuwenhuis and den Dekker begin to enter their prime years (although neither really have done enough to become starters). Young will likely earn around $2.25 million in arbitration this year, which is a little high for a fourth or fifth outfielder, so it seems he may be non-tendered by New York.

That might not be such a great idea for the Mets, though. E.Y. stole 29.7 percent of the Mets’ bases in 2014. Without him, they would likely drop to the bottom-10 in the league. While both Nieuwenhuis and den Dekker have above-average speed, neither has shown the propensity to steal bases with the major-league club. In addition, their shaky batting has had them going up and down between the majors and the minors throughout their careers. If the Mets are relying on them to replace Young, they may be in for a hard time. That’s not to say both Nieuwenhuis and den Dekker will have poor 2015 seasons, but it’s always a good thing to bet on a proven veteran.

Another reason the Mets may want to keep Young around is Cuddyer’s age and injury risk. Last season, Cuddyer played in only 49 games. He’s expected to become the Mets’ right fielder while Granderson moves over to left. If Cuddyer does get hurt, that opens up a spot in the outfield. Having Young to fill in would be invaluable.

This is, however, all dependent on whether the Mets acquire another outfielder before the season begins. I feel that Boston Red Sox’s Yoenis Cespedes should be atop their list of targets this offseason. Cespedes would easily replace anyone who isn’t Lagares or Granderson, and would make Young’s place on this team much more questionable than it already is. But until the Mets make that trade, or a similar one, Young deserves a spot on the Mets’ major-league roster in 2015.

Matt Turner is a New York Mets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MturnerNY, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.

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