3 New York Mets MVP candidates, and 1 player who should be benched
By Kevin Henry
New York Mets benching candidate: Eduardo Escobar, 3B
It’s time to pull the plug on the Escobar experience at third base.
Entering play on Friday, the third base position for the Mets had totaled a bWAR of minus-0.5. Only two other teams (San Diego Padres, shockingly with Manny Machado at the position and the Miami Marlins) had had worse production at third base than the Mets. That’s simply not going to cut it for a team with World Series aspirations.
Through his first 55 at-bats of the season, Escobar was slashing .145/.186/.291. Those numbers were boosted by his performance in San Francisco on Thursday when he went 2-for-5 at the plate to mark his only multi-hit game of the season so far.
With Brett Baty lurking in the wings, it’s time to turn the position over to the highly touted prospect. That may be easier said than done with the ramifications of the Scherzer suspension, but Escobar has been given every chance to grab the position over the last season-plus and it simply hasn’t happened for the veteran.
The clock is ticking for Escobar, and it’s likely only a matter of time until he becomes a player off the bench rather than the starter at the hot corner.
dark. Next. 3 Mets prospects who should be promoted soon