It’s been years since the New York Mets were bona fide buyers at the trade deadline, and fans are eagerly waiting to see what, if anything, GM Sandy Alderson is going to do. Alderson is expected to make some kind of move before the deadline, and while there are a number of directions he could go in, one area that New York needs to address is its bench.

The Mets’ bench has been atrocious all season and arguably the team’s biggest weakness. New York pinch hitters have the second lowest batting average in baseball, hitting .148 with a mere five doubles, seven RBI’s, and no home runs on the season. Alderson has tried to switch things up by demoting Anthony Recker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis earlier in the season, but nothing has worked. Even if the Mets don’t make a major splash at the trade deadline, they have to do something to improve the bench.

John Mayberry Jr. has been a major culprit of New York’s bench issues. If the Mets add an outfielder at the deadline that can step into the starting lineup and relegate Michael Cuddyer to a bench role, Mayberry may be a roster casualty. But even if the Mets don’t add such a player, the least they can do is find an alternative to Mayberry on the bench. With a .186 average, three home runs and nine RBI’s, Mayberry has to be replaced for the second half of the season. David Murphy and Shane Victorino are two players worth looking into in the backup outfielder role.

In the infield, Eric Campbell has been an easy player for Mets’ fans to root for the past couple of seasons, but he has been a black hole of productivity all season and can’t remain on a team with playoff aspirations the final two months of the season. Once he returns from the minor league DL, Matt Reynolds could be an option to fill the infield utility role down the stretch for the Mets.

Another option is Zach Lutz, who recently returned to the Mets’ farm system and could be a better option coming off the bench while occasionally filling in at third base for Daniel Murphy against lefties. On the trade front, Ben Zobrist is an obvious choice to give the Mets versatility and improve their bench. But one way or another, the Mets need to find a better alternative to Campbell the second half of the season.

If the Mets return to a six-man rotation at some point, which is likely to happen, their bench will likely be shortened to four players. If that’s the case, the Mets need to make sure that four-man bench is as strong as possible. That will entail finding upgrades for the likes of Mayberry and Campbell, and if that means making a trade at the deadline to improve the team’s bench, so be it.

 

Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com.  Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.