Outfielder Rick Ankiel is Sandy Alderson‘s latest reclamation project. The 33-year-old former pitcher will become the 954th player in Mets history tonight, and the eighth to wear number 16 since Dwight Gooden left.
Keeping in mind the dangers of looking at a small sample size, Ankiel does offer an advantage over the Mets’ other center field options, especially considering his defense:
|
Age |
OBP |
SLG |
AVG |
AB |
HR |
|
|
Rick Ankiel |
33 |
.231 |
.484 |
.194 |
62 |
5 |
|
Juan Lagares |
24 |
.200 |
.182 |
.152 |
33 |
0 |
|
J. Valdespin |
25 |
.292 |
.433 |
.239 |
67 |
3 |
|
Collin Cowgill |
26 |
.173 |
.294 |
.157 |
51 |
2 |
|
Kirk Nieuwenhuis |
25 |
.176 |
.178 |
.125 |
16 |
0 |
But considering the little fact that the 2013 Mets are a fourth-place team going nowhere, they’d probably be better served by running Jordany Valdespin out there against right-handed pitching instead of Ankiel. (And I say this as someone who is not very fond of JV1’s showboating.) Maybe he would show that he can hit well enough to be a fourth outfielder or a utility player on a good team.
Instead, we’ll get to see Ankiel try to hang on a little longer. Maybe we’ll at least get to enjoy some highlight-worthy defensive plays.
At least Juan Lagares will still get to play against lefties… until Terry Collins changes his mind.
PaulHadsall.com 