Omar Infante Could Be A Smart Pickup For The Mets

Jhonny Peralta has signed a four-year, $52 million contract to play shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Stephen Drew is still out there, but is surprisingly not getting much attention. (Injury history, anyone?)  Ben Zobrist could be traded for, but Tampa Bay really loves him and would more than likely ask for a king's ransom in exchange for Zobrist.

But there is one veteran middle infielder out there who isn't getting much attention, but he should be getting lots of attention from the Mets.  That infielder is Omar Infante.  And despite the fact that he's played only 225 games at shortstop in his career (he's played over 700 games at second base), he might be the guy to target for the vacant shortstop position at Citi Field.

It would certainly not be considered baby steps for the Mets if they chose to sign Omar Infante.

Omar Infante has played 12 seasons in the major leagues, but is still relatively young (he'll be 32 in December).  He became a regular in the big leagues in his third season, when he hit .264 with 27 doubles, 16 homers, 55 RBI and 13 stolen bases for the Tigers.  But his first go-round in Detroit didn't end well, and he was traded to the Cubs, who traded him to the Braves prior to the 2008 season.

In Atlanta, Infante became an All-Star.  He also quietly became one of the best contact hitters in the game.  From 2008 to 2010, Infante hit .309 for the Braves, striking out just 134 times in over 1,000 plate appearances.  But he didn't hit for much power or steal many bases for the Braves, so Atlanta decided to move him to the Marlins for power-hitting second baseman Dan Uggla.

Infante hit with more power and stole more bases in 2012, splitting the season between Miami and Detroit.  Although his average dipped to .274, he hit 12 home runs, drove in 53 runs and stole a career-high 17 bases for the Marlins and Tigers.  He also legged out seven triples and produced his first 30-double campaign.

In 2013, Infante overcame a mid-season injury that kept him out of the lineup for six weeks.  Had he not been hurt, he might have had his best season yet.  Infante played in 118 games for the AL Central division champion Tigers, batting .318 with 24 doubles, 10 HR and 51 RBI.  Had he not been hurt, he probably would have surpassed his 30-double, 12-HR, 53-RBI totals from 2012.  He also would've finished fourth in the American League batting race had he qualified for it, as his 476 plate appearances kept him 26 short of being considered among the leaders in batting average.

So why am I making such a big deal about a soon-to-be 32-year-old middle infielder being a smart pickup for the Mets to take over at short?  One reason is economical.  The other is all about the ballpark.

Omar Infante made just $4 million as a member of the Tigers in 2013.  The two-year, $8 million contract he signed with the Marlins after the 2011 campaign was the richest he had ever agreed to.  That means he'd be a cheap signing for the Mets, as they could give him two years for less money than the Cardinals are committing to Jhonny Peralta per season.  Signing Infante would also leave approximately $15-$20 million for Sandy Alderson to spend on a starting pitcher and another outfielder.  Had they signed Peralta or continued to be in the mix for Stephen Drew, that dollar amount would be far smaller, as would the talent level of the players Alderson would have to settle for.

It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to think Omar Infante could be a fine player at Citi Field.

The main reason why Infante would be a wise choice for the Mets is because of the ballpark he would call home for 81 games a year.  Do you know which opposing player has the highest batting average at Citi Field for all players who have played at least 15 games there?  Would you believe the answer is Omar Infante?  And we're not even talking about a small sample size, as the players with the second and third highest batting averages for visiting players at Citi Field (Matt Kemp, Reed Johnson) combined have 14 fewer at-bats at the park than Infante has by himself.

In 117 career at-bats at Citi Field, Infante is a .402 hitter, picking up 47 hits in 30 games (27 starts).  Infante has 11 extra-base hits, 13 RBI and 17 runs scored at the Mets' home ballpark.  His batting average is nearly 100 points higher than the Met with the highest average at Citi Field (Jose Reyes hit .319 at the park before joining the Marlins in 2012).

Infante also has the second-most number of hits of any opposing player at Citi Field, four behind Jimmy Rollins, who has 47 more at-bats than Infante has at the ballpark.  And for a player who is not a slugger and isn't among the league leaders in walks, Infante's .995 OPS at Citi Field has been bested by just two players, Joey Votto and Matt Kemp, both of whom are considered to be among the best players in the game.  The Met with the highest OPS at Citi Field is David Wright, but his .842 mark is nowhere near Infante's OPS.

Mets fans have been waiting for years for Sandy Alderson to make a splash in the free agent market.  But it's not always the free agent with the highest price tag that has the biggest positive impact on the team.  Sometimes, it's the smart move that pushes a team in the right direction (see Red Sox, Boston, circa 2013).  Omar Infante isn't a sexy signing.  But he'd sure be a smart one.  And he may just be the right guy at short and the player who would give the Mets the most bang for their buck in 2014.
 

Dan Uggla To Atlanta; Castillo Still A Met

On Tuesday, the Florida Marlins traded their second baseman, Dan Uggla, to the division rival Atlanta Braves. In return, the Marlins received utility player and questionable All-Star Omar Infante and pitcher Mike Dunn.

The Mets, on the other hand, still have the one-armed bandit (Luis Castillo) playing second base.

Let me get this straight. The Florida Marlins were having difficulty signing Uggla to a multi-year deal, so they traded him to a division rival (one that finished ahead of them in the standings) and all they got in return was Omar Infante and Mike Dunn? Let's do a short analysis of this deal.

Daniel Cooley Uggla is the only second baseman in history to have four seasons of 30 or more home runs. Only four other second basemen had compiled three such seasons in their careers and none of them did it for three consecutive seasons. Uggla has had four straight seasons of 30-plus home runs, hitting a career-high 33 HR this past season.

Over his first five seasons, Dan Uggla has been incredibly durable, playing in least 146 games every season. In those five seasons, this is what an average Uggla season looks like:

155 games, .263 batting avg., 100 runs, 34 doubles, 31 HR, 93 RBI.

The man considered to be the premier second baseman in the National League is Chase Utley. Over Utley's six full seasons in the majors, his offensive numbers look quite similar to Uggla's:

145 games, .298 batting avg., 105 runs, 36 doubles, 27 HR, 95 RBI.

Despite the similar numbers (other than batting average), Uggla has always been a distant second to Utley in discussions about who the best second baseman in the National League is. It seems like the photo below is the only way Uggla can get close to Utley in anything.

Photo by Jennifer Zambri-Dickerson

Uggla has been a two-time All-Star and won his first Silver Slugger Award in 2010. Although he is a human windmill, striking out 149 times last season and averaging 152 strikeouts per season over his career, he always draws his share of walks, averaging 82 walks per year since 2008. During the same three-year time period, his on-base percentage was .361. By comparison, Mets' leadoff hitter Jose Reyes, whose primary job as a leadoff hitter is to get on base, has never had a single season on-base percentage higher than .358.

Here's one other important fact about the man whose parents gave him a middle name of "Cooley". His favorite ballpark to hit in is Atlanta's Turner Field.

In 45 career games in Atlanta, Uggla has absolutely raked. He's a .354 hitter at Turner Field, picking up 16 doubles, 12 homers and 36 RBI there. Since he will now be playing 81 games in Atlanta, that projects to 29 doubles, 22 HR and 65 RBI for the 2011 season, which would be a good full season for a second baseman, let alone half a season's worth of games.

Basically, Uggla could have a monster season playing half his games in Atlanta, especially considering that he will be eligible for free agency after the 2011 season.

What about the guys Atlanta gave up for Uggla? How do they stack up against the Cooley Man?

Well, Omar Infante has been in the major leagues since 2002. Only once has he reached double figures in home runs (he hit 16 HR in 2004 for the Detroit Tigers). In that one "magical" season, Infante also reached his career high in RBI, with 55.

Considering that so many people were talking about Infante in 2010 when he "earned" his first All-Star appearance, he only finished the season with eight home runs and 47 RBI. Uggla had reached those numbers by the All-Star Break.

Yes, Infante hit a career-high .321 this past season, but that lofty batting average only raised his career mark to .274. Prior to the 2010 season, Infante's career batting average was .264, or one point higher than Uggla's .263 career average. Also, Infante has never met a pitch he wouldn't swing at, as evidenced by his career .319 on-base percentage.

Before the 2010 season, Infante's career OBP was .310, a number that should be familiar to both Mets fans and Braves fans, for that is the same career on-base percentage of a Mr. Jeffrey Braden Francoeur.


So clearly, Infante is an inferior offensive player when compared to Dan Uggla. That must mean the other player in the trade, Mike Dunn, must be a stud pitcher, right? Not quite.

Most people reporting the deal made note of the fact that the left-handed Dunn was 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in 25 games for the Braves. He also struck out 27 batters in 19 innings. When you look at those numbers, he looks like a promising young pitcher. But there's one thing they neglected to mention.

Mike Dunn makes Oliver Perez look like a master of control.


In those same 19 innings, Dunn walked 17 batters. In four innings with the Yankees in 2009, Dunn walked five batters in four innings. Therefore, in his brief major league career, Dunn has walked 22 batters in 23 innings, which averages out to 8.6 walks per nine innings. That's actually worse than Oliver Perez's walks per nine inning ratio over the past two seasons (7.9 BB/9 innings in 2009 and 8.2 BB/9 innings in 2010).

In fact, Dunn looks like he's getting worse as he gets older. His control was actually very good in the minor leagues in 2007. He walked 45 batters in 144.2 innings playing A-ball for the Charleston River Dogs (a Yankees affiliate). His average of 2.8 walks per nine innings would be an excellent ratio in the major leagues. However, from season to season, that number has gone up at an alarming speed.

In 2008, Dunn pitched 18.1 fewer innings than in 2007, but walked 14 more batters (4.2 BB/9 innings). In 2009, he pitched in Double-A, Triple-A and briefly in the major leagues with the Yankees. Combining his minor league and major league numbers, he pitched 77.1 innings and walked 51 batters (5.9 BB/9 innings). Then came his 2010 season, where we walked almost a batter per inning for the Atlanta Braves.

So basically, this is what the trade boils down to. The Atlanta Braves are trading away a player who gets on base at a Jeff Francoeur rate with similar power numbers to Jason Bay's 2010 season, along with a pitcher that has studied and graduated with honors from the Oliver Perez Pitching Academy. In return they get the only second baseman in major league history to hit at least 30 HR in four consecutive seasons, who is coming off his best season in the majors, with career-highs in batting average (.287), home runs (33) and RBI (105). This is also a player who has always performed well at his new home ballpark, Turner Field.

Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because the Mets still have Luis Castillo as their second baseman.

Neither Uggla nor Castillo are great defensive second basemen, although Castillo used to be. But surely, the run-production contributed by Uggla more than makes up for his Hole-In-The-Glove caliber defense he provides. What can Castillo contribute offensively? He gets hit by pitches occasionally.


In 2007 and 2008, the Marlins put the final nails in the Mets' coffins. The Mets nailed their own coffins throughout the entire 2009 and 2010 seasons. Now it looks like the Marlins are doing it to the Mets again, this time in the off-season, by sending one of the best offensive second basemen in recent history to their division rivals for Jeff Francoeur and Oliver Perez clones.

The Marlins traded away Luis Castillo to the Minnesota Twins after the 2005 season to make room for Dan Uggla. It's too bad the Mets couldn't think to do the same in 2010.

Charlie Manuel Gets No Stars For His All-Star Selections

The National League All-Stars have been named and as always, there are some notable snubs. This happens every year and will not change until Major League Baseball either expands the All-Star Game rosters or eliminates the "every team must be represented" rule.

One such snub was Mets starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey. Coming into tonight's game, Big Pelf had an outstanding 10-2 record and a 2.93 ERA. However, he was not selected by Charlie Manuel (he earned the right to manage the National League All-Star team by leading his team to last year's World Series) to pitch in Anaheim next Tuesday.

Looking at the National League All-Star roster, some players whose names are not familiar to the common fan were selected as their respective team's sole All-Star representative. These players include relief pitcher Evan Meek of the Pittsburgh Pirates and closer Matt Capps of the Washington Nationals.

One might say that because these two pitchers "had to be" selected by Charlie Manuel to fulfill the "every team must be represented" rule, Mike Pelfrey was denied a spot that appeared certain to be his. I claim otherwise.

For example, what's the deal with Charlie Manuel's love of Atlanta Braves players? He took Brian McCann (.265, 10 HR, 34 RBI) to back up Yadier Molina behind the plate. Normally, this wouldn't be a bad choice. Did he fail to notice that Miguel Olivo of the Rockies was doing better in all three categories (.307, 11 HR, 39 RBI)? Olivo also has five triples to McCann's big fat zero. Defensively, Olivo is a monster, throwing out more than half the runners who have attempted to steal against him (20 runners caught stealing in 39 attempts). McCann? Not so much. He has only thrown out 17 runners in 58 attempts.

If McCann's selection doesn't seem odd to you, then what about the selection of his teammate, Omar Infante? The Braves' utility player has only played in 57 games this season. Although he's hitting a healthy .309, his other numbers (23 runs, 22 RBI, eight doubles, one home run) are less than stellar. What about the King of All Snubs, Reds first baseman Joey Votto?

In the month of June alone, Votto hit .314, with 21 runs scored, 8 HR and 22 RBI. That's right. Joey Votto, the non-All-Star, basically did in one month (but with more power) what All-Star Omar Infante has done ALL YEAR!

For the year, Votto is hitting .312, with 19 HR, 57 RBI and 53 runs scored. (Note to fans: Immediately after typing this paragraph, Votto his 20th HR of the year against fellow All-Star snub, Mike Pelfrey.)

Need I say more about Charlie Manuel's questionable All-Star selection strategy? Yes, I do!

St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols was voted in by the fans to start the All-Star Game for the National League squad. No one should object to that selection.

However, who did the Kool-Aid Man take as Pujols' backup? He took his own first baseman, Ryan Howard.

Howard is having a good year (.293, 15 HR, 59 RBI), but the numbers are far below his standards. So why did Manuel say "oh, yeahhhhh!" to Howard and not to Votto?

According to the Detroit Free Press, Manuel selected Howard over Votto because (and we quote):

"He's my guy, our player, my guy."

So basically, Charlie Manuel is saying that he likes his players and thinks the way to getting home field advantage in the World Series is with the feared bat of Omar Infante.

On the bright side, it appears as if All-Star pitcher Yovani Gallardo will not be pitching in the Midsummer Classic because of an oblique injury. That paves the way for Mike Pelfrey to get the call to Anaheim that he's worked all season to get.

Pelfrey should not have needed any help to earn his first All-Star selection, but if Charlie Manuel wants to correct his oversight, he'll take Pelfrey to replace Gallardo. It wouldn't hurt Big Pelf's chances if he sent Manuel a plate of his delicious sliders.

Even with the Phillies winning three straight division titles, two consecutive National League pennants and a World Series championship two years ago, the Mets remain on their minds, especially the small one inside the head of Charlie Manuel.

A few months ago, Charlie Manuel suggested that the Mets must be stealing signs to gain a home field advantage. Now he's doing a snub-a-dub-dub to Mike Pelfrey (and Joey Votto) in order to take less deserving players and players on his team (which may actually be redundant).

Here's a request from Studious Metsimus to the rest of the National League. Please make sure the Phillies don't make the playoffs this season. We can't have another year of Charlie Manuel going all holier-than-thou with his managerial duties by making these foolish decisions with the National League All-Star roster. The National League and its fans deserve better than this pompous fool calling the shots.