On National Return Day, the Mets need not hesitate to join the fun. They should return these players in exchange for ones who offer a better fit…
The Mets should be an active participant for an event that can only happen in America. Today, stores and on-line sites will contend with exchanges and refunds on eight to ten percent of their sales during the Holiday Season.
Today is even tagged with a name as though it’s a new holiday on the calendar – National Return Day.
While it’s not likely that the Mets will be receiving any refunds, though what they did with Yoenis Cespedes comes close, they do have a few players who need to be taken back to the store for an exchange.
**** No matter what Brodie Van Wagenen is trying to sell, Jake Marisnick is not the answer to the Mets hole in centerfield.
Between Miami and Houston, Marisnick is entering his eighth season in the big leagues, and his first with the Mets. His lifetime batting average is .227, and that’s relatively better than Marisnick’s woeful .280 on-base percentage.
The guy can’t hit. What the hell was Brodie thinking? Oh – now, I remember. Marisnick can fly like an eagle chasing balls down in the outfield.
But wait a minute. Didn’t the Mets get rid of Juan Lagares, a replica of Marisnick as a good field no hit player?
Wrap him up and take him back to the store.
**** Jed Lowrie had the makings of someone who would help the Mets when Van Wagenen signed him to a two-year $20 million deal.
Lowrie was coming off an excellent 2018 season for the Oakland A’s in which he hit 23 home runs, drove in 99, with a .801 OPS.
If not for injuries that kept Lowrie on the Injured List for all but nine games, he would have played his twelfth season at the age of 35.
Soon, Lowrie will be attempting a comeback a year older and a day late with no particular role on a Mets team already well-stocked with infielders.
Surely, there’s an American League team out there willing to take a chance, even if half the parts are missing on an exchange.
**** If there is anyone in Metland who wants to see Jeurys Familia throw even one pitch for the Mets in 2020, please raise your hand.
Ranking with the Robinson Cano trade, this is an easy one to throw darts at Van Wagenen and not miss the target. Three-years at $30 million for a “closer” who already had a checkered career with the Mets was inexcusable.
Brodie can expect a good deal of skepticism when he brings this package to the store, and the Mets may need to accept only a partial refund when the Familia package is opened and inspected at the store.
Maybe it’d be better to try this return on-line where no one is looking.
While the Mets are in the store…
While the Mets are in the store making their exchanges, they can look around at the packages others are trying to exchange, or possibly new ones that are on sale.
Joe Panik, whose experience with the team last year disappointed no one, might be an excellent place to start.
Or, how about Matt Harvey on a one-year minor league deal with a boatload of incentives, with an explicit understanding that he’s going to be the next Jason Isringhausen, who also began his career as a starter for the Mets before going on to amass 300 saves, discovering a new job in the bullpen?
And what about Sterling Marte – whatever happened with him and all that talk about acquiring a real centerfielder from Pittsburgh?
Should have read the fine print…
The trouble is the Mets, and in particular, Brodie Van Wagenen should have read the fine print on the receipt for players like Lowrie, Familia, and even the toned-down contract of Cespedes.
And that’s because the receipt clearly states the Mets have reached the expiration date for which returns and exchanges are accepted.
Turn on the charm Brodie – you’ve got a lot of smooth-talking to do…
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
