The axe falls on Luisangel Acuna; who's next?

During the course of the MLB season, a team has to try many different things. This is done with the understanding that many of the things will not work out in a positive way. And that’s okay. The key thing is knowing when to cut bait on a player or a strategy. One thing that the Braves historically do much better than the Mets is cutting their losses with a player sooner rather than later. Let’s look at some players the Mets have given extended PA to this season.

Luisangel Acuna was finally sent to the minors prior to Monday’s game. Acuna began the year with a nice stretch, thanks to a completely unsustainable BABIP. He wasn’t drawing walks and wasn’t hitting for power, either. So, when the hits stopped falling in for him, it got ugly. In his last 105 PA, Acuna had a .216/.260/.227 line, which is horrific. For the year, he had a .576 OPS in 158 PA. Anyone who expected Acuna to be better than this simply wasn’t paying attention. He had a .654 OPS last year in Triple-A, in a better-hitting environment than he experienced in the majors.

In the preseason projection piece, my forecast was for Acuna to post a .595 OPS in the majors. My expectation was that the Mets would sour on him and send him quickly back to the minors. But they kept him around for speed and defense. They replaced him on the MLB roster with Travis Jankowski, who brings those same two things to the table, just as an outfielder, rather than an infielder. Jankowski will allow the Mets a CF option besides Jeff McNeil.

Ronny Mauricio is likely the next position player to be sent to the minors. In a smaller sample, his hitting has been slightly worse than Acuna’s, no easy feat. And while it’s not easy to point to one specific thing with Acuna, it’s easy to see where Mauricio needs work. He’s been helpless against breaking balls low and out of the strike zone.

When he was called up, Mauricio had 5 BB and 5 Ks in Triple-A. Here’s what was said here:

“Plate discipline will continue to be a concern in the majors. Just because he did well in Triple-A doesn’t mean that MLB pitchers won’t potentially be able to exploit him.”

Mauricio has 3 BB and 18 Ks in 54 PA with the Mets. It’s hard to thrive with a 33.3 K% and impossible if you combine that with a .233 BABIP, like Mauricio has currently. He’s got to be able to be situationally aware, knowing that if he has two strikes on him, they’re going to throw a breaking ball in the dirt. Subjectively, Mauricio seemed to be able to make contact with breaking balls in the zone. But an MLB player needs to be able to lay off breaking balls way out of the zone. Mauricio needs to go back to the minors and work on this particular skill.

While it makes sense to swap Mauricio for Mark Vientos, one could make an argument for cutting ties with Jared Young, instead. Young has fanned 15 times in 43 PA and has a .609 OPS, a number that relatively high due to three homers. Mauricio is stronger from the left-hand side and he could easily fill the “lefty off the bench” role that Young has. If they keep Mauricio over Young, it would balance the roster, giving the club six infielders and five outfielders, counting Starling Marte as an OF.

The final player to consider is Brett Baty. Two-hit games his last two times out has Baty with a .670 OPS. He’s a better fielder at the hot corner than Vientos – you might be, too – and that probably justifies keeping him in the majors. But once a corner player dips below a 90 OPS+ - it becomes a realistic thing to consider moving on with a new player. Baty has a 90 OPS+.

In his last 154 PA before hitting the IL, Vientos had a .772 OPS, significantly better than what Acuna, Baty and Mauricio have produced. Vientos needs to be in the lineup, whether at 3B or DH. Do you make him the full-time DH and have Baty get most of the starts at 3B? Or do you try to run a quasi-platoon, with Baty and Marte splitting time, with Vientos playing 3B when a lefty’s on the mound? And what changes if Mauricio is still in the majors?

David Stearns wants to give youngsters a shot. Acuna failed to deliver on his chance and Mauricio hasn’t so far, either. Perhaps Baty can settle in and be a league-average hitter. If Vientos can hit like he was before the injury and Baty can produce a 100 OPS+ - it will make the lineup look a whole lot better.

Ultimately, you can have grand plans about working youngsters into the lineup. When it works, like it did with Vientos last year, everything is dandy. But when it doesn’t, you can’t keep throwing away ABs. It brings to mind an old Casey Stengel line, where he said, “Son, we'd like to keep you around this season but we're going to try and win a pennant.”

So, good riddance, Acuna. And perhaps soon you’ll be joined by Mauricio and/or Young, too.