Rieber: Mets could use Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio right now
Mets manager Buck Showalter during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It’s a pretty common reaction for fans to look at a lineup and say of the manager, “What was he thinking?”
We’ll ask a different question about Buck Showalter’s lineup on Saturday in the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Rockies: Was he thinking about sending a message to general manager Billy Eppler?
One day after Eppler addressed the possibility of calling up prospects Mark Vientos and/or Ronny Mauricio to help the Mets’ struggling offense, Showalter started Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar on the right side of the infield against lefthander Austin Gomber.
Canha is an outfielder. Escobar is a third baseman. The duo went a combined 1-for-7 as the Mets dropped their fourth in five games.
You know who else can play first base instead of Canha when Pete Alonso needs a DH day? Vientos. You know who else can play second base when Jeff McNeil needs a rest or shifts to the outfield? Mauricio.
Showalter wouldn’t have been playing a little 4D chess, would he?
We’re reminded of the time in 2002 when Joe Torre sent infielder Enrique Wilson out to play rightfield in a move designed to let George Steinbrenner know he wanted a real outfielder, pronto, in the season after Paul O’Neill retired.
Bam! After watching Wilson botch a ball against the Mets, The Boss traded for Raul Mondesi.
“Our outfield has been depleted,” Steinbrenner said, “and when Joe needs something, I’m going to do everything I can to get it for him.”
The Mets have an owner in Steve Cohen who will get anything Showalter needs. But early May is not trading season, and the Mets might just have what they need for a jolt down on the farm.
Showalter said that by starting Canha and Escobar he was just trying “to find out about some things. We did it all year last year. Create versatility. Create ways for guys to be better players down the road.”
But the manager knows this isn’t time for a tryout camp. The Mets are 17-17. They need wins.
Speaking of the road, Eppler said he was dispatching special adviser Carlos Beltran to Syracuse this weekend. Syracuse is lovely this time of year, but Beltran didn’t go to see the sights. He went to see if Vientos and Mauricio are ready for prime time.
If Beltran arrived on Friday, he saw Mauricio go 3-for-5 with a triple and make his first error in his 10th game at second base. He saw Vientos go 0-for-4 with two walks, starting at third base and then switching to first.
Syracuse played a doubleheader on Saturday. The youngsters went a combined 1-for-12. Still, Mauricio is batting .336 with six home runs and a .965 OPS. Vientos is batting .330 with nine home runs and a 1.075 OPS.
The Mets certainly can do worse than to give one of them a try, even if it means releasing the popular (in the clubhouse, not with fans) Escobar, who is batting .159 after going 0-for-3 before being removed for pinch hitter Luis Guillorme in the ninth. Guillorme struck out.
With so many guaranteed contracts, it’s hard to see how Eppler could maneuver the roster to get both rookies up. The Mets already have incorporated neophytes Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez into the lineup.
Baty, who started against the lefthander, went 0-for-4 and is batting .294. Alvarez (1-for-2, walk), who seems to be gaining confidence with every game, has his average up to .213. Not great. But Tomas Nido is batting .118, which is why Alvarez has been playing more of late, as he should if he’s going to be up here.
The Mets need help. The schedule-maker sent them get-well cards this week with series against Detroit and Colorado, but the Mets have gone 1-4 and scored a total of nine runs.
Vientos or Mauricio? Whichever one Beltran deems most ready can be at Citi Field by game time on Sunday.
As we said, Syracuse is lovely this time of year. But Queens is lovelier.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
