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The Winter Meetings have come and gone. There were many free-agent signings, and even a fair amount of trades. And yet the New York Mets didn’t really do much. They shopped some of their players, and they took calls inquiring about others. But in the end, their roster looks almost exactly the same (minus five minor league players who were drafted from them in the Rule 5 Draft).
The Mets are moving in the right direction, and GM Sandy Alderson firmly believes his team will contend in 2015. While they made strides in 2014 and can expect to make more in 2015, they’re not quite there yet. Alderson inked outfielder Michael Cuddyer to help solve the corner outfield issue, and he hasn’t done anything about shortstop. One move he should make – although he probably won’t do it – is sign Nori Aoki, formerly of the Kansas City Royals.
Aoki also plays outfield and it’s unlikely Alderson will make another move to bolster the outfield before adding depth to the infield, but the match makes sense. The Mets are without a lead-off hitter. Right now, that role would probably go to Juan Lagares or Curtis Granderson, but as I’ve said before they’re not stereotypical lead-off hitters. Aoki is. He brings a good average and on-base percentage (something Alderson loves), doesn’t strike out a lot and can steal bases better than any Met.
New York suffered from a poor offense in 2014 (and for many years before that) and by adding a player who can get on base, advance himself and be driven in by the good hitters in the middle of the Mets’ lineup, they will immediately push themselves into the above-average category. He won’t hit many home runs (he only has 19 career home runs), but playing in spacious Citi Field will allow him to rack up the doubles and, with his speed, probably a fair amount of triples (he had six last year).
Defensively, he’s no slouch either. In fact, he’s very much the opposite. Playing right field (where the Mets would play him), he has a .990 fielding percentage, 13 defensive runs saved and 37 total zone total fielding runs above average (Rtot), or the number of runs above average that he was worth based on the number of plays made. Essentially, he’s a very good fielder. And as we’ve discussed, Citi Field has a pretty big outfield. Adding him would benefit the Mets on both offense and defense.
Aoki has averaged $1.65 million in contracts in his three years in the majors. He’ll likely be able to command more than that, but his name hasn’t been very popular on the Hot Stove. Because of that, Alderson may be able to sneak in and grab him without creating too much attention. Aoki will be 32 years old by next season, so the Mets can’t invest long-term, but he’s younger than Cuddyer and a three-year deal could be a safe move, perhaps in the $10-12 million range in total.
The only issue now, is what do the Mets do with Cuddyer? They gave him $21 million for two years. That type of money warrants playing time. Honestly, the best thing to do with him is to platoon him. Aoki, Granderson and Lucas Duda all bat left-handed. Cuddyer is a righty. That should earn him some playing time against left-handed pitchers, whether in the outfield or at first base. Depth is always crucial to a ballclub’s success, and with the Mets only having a couple of unproven minor-league outfielders waiting to replace anyone in the case of an injury, adding Aoki would make a lot of sense.
Unfortunately, Alderson isn’t one to make too big of a splash during the offseason, and it seems he’s content to enter 2015 with a very similar roster to the one he has right now. If he changes his mind, however, he should look to add Nori Aoki.
Matt Turner is a New York Mets writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @MturnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.
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