3 players from the 2021 Mets who are failing miserably elsewhere
By Tim Boyle
These three members of the 2021 New York Mets are failing miserably with their new club.
Nothing fills the need for schadenfreude like watching your ex-players fail miserably with other teams. The 2021 New York Mets had a disappointing year but they did get some good individual performances out of several important players.
The team underwent a pretty large overhaul in the offseason, saying goodbye to several players who would have been logical fits to return. More often than not, the front office decided to try something new.
And while someone like free agent Michael Conforto could be considered someone who failed miserably, his unemployed 2022 can be blamed on Scott Boras and an apparent shoulder injury during the lockout. He’s not getting a chance to actually struggle on the field. These Mets have.
1) Former Mets player failing miserably in 2021: Javier Baez
There might not have been a more tumultuous two months between the Mets fans and one of the players on the team. Javier Baez was the big midseason acquisition by the front office last July. Following a slow start and an injury, he cranked things up and put up some pretty fantastic numbers for New York.
In his 186 plate appearances across 47 games, Baez slashed .299/.371/.515 with 9 home runs and 22 RBI. Despite acknowledging how he booed the fans with a thumbs down, the front office was seemingly willing to at least consider bringing him back to play alongside shortstop Francisco Lindor.
Instead, Baez signed a lucrative contract with the Detroit Tigers. And if you’ve followed them at all this year, you’ll know he’s hardly the only player on their roster having a miserable season.
After 249 chances to prove himself to Tigers fans, Baez is hitting only .271/.257/.370 with 7 home runs on a club with very little power whatsoever. His strikeout rate is amazingly down to 23.7% from the 28.9% it sits at from all of his years at swinging and missing. In fact, his season low is 24%. Making contact isn’t exactly his problem this year.
If this is the player the Tigers bought, it’s going to be a long couple of seasons and they better hope he opts out after next season.