Mets Handling of Cabrera And Bruce at Forefront of Mets Poor Play

In case you haven’t noticed,  the Mets offense has been historically bad scoring just 14 runs over nine June games.  That’s 1.6 runs per game.  No one can win games like that, which is something the Mets know because the team has the second best starting pitcher ERA in the month.

Now, there are many reasons why the Mets aren’t scoring any runs.  At the forefront of those issues are two under-performing and injured veterans in Jay Bruce and Asdrubal Cabrera.

Looking over this past offseason, the Mets brought both of these players back into the fold to be key hitters in the Mets lineup. Really, if you look at their defensive numbers over the past few years, they’re here purely for offense.

With respect to Bruce, he has battled plantar fascitiis all season long.  As a result, he’s on pace to have the worst year of his 11 year Major League career.  Through 61 games, he’s hitting .216/.297/.327 with three homers and 17 RBI.  All told, he has a -2 DRS in right field and a -0.6 WAR.

Cabrera actually started this season healthy, and he was hitting like an MVP candidate.  His play over most of the first month of the season masked many of the Mets issues, and he helped the Mets enter May in first place over the Braves and Nationals.

Unfortunately, on April 25th, Mickey Callaway had to hold Cabrera out of the lineup with a hamstring issue.  Since that time, he has only tweaked that injury further, and his play has dropped off a cliff.

In the 42 games since he was first held out of the lineup, Cabrera is hitting .239/.275/.434 with seven homers and 24 RBI.  Making matters worse is Cabrera’s play at second base.  Right now, he ranks last among all second basemen in defense with a -10 DRS.

When looking at Bruce and Cabrera struggling the way they are, you have two players who were supposed to be pivotal pieces struggling mightily.  They’re not contributing in the field, at the plate, or on the basepaths.  Overall, it is a shame the Mets organization who let two prideful, hard-nosed, and frankly good players go out there and struggle the way they are.

Both players need to be put on the disabled list to heal.  This isn’t just for their own sake, it’s for the team’s sake.  They can ill afford to keep both of these players in the everyday lineup and get absolutely nothing from there.

The Mets might as well let Jose Bautista play everyday while Bruce heals.  Luis Guillorme or Jeff McNeil could take over second until Wilmer Flores comes off the disabled list.  Let Ty Kelly spell both spots on occasion.  Really, anything than the status quo is an improvement.

If you don’t like these choices, consider those players can’t possibly play worse defense or hit worse than what Bruce and Cabrera are providing.  They need to get healthy so they can be productive because, as we have seen, letting them play through these injuries isn’t helping anybody.