The Mets Outfield "Situation"

Here's a great piece by my good friend and contributer Andy Wein.

Many Mets fans (myself included) were worried, to say the least, when Omar failed to land a corner outfielder at the trade deadline. And since the trade deadline both Ibanez and Winn have gone on uncharacteristic tears, further causing second-guessing.

But however the rest of the season plays out, it seems pretty likely that the lack of trading for a corner outfielder won't be the culprit. Take a look at the number the Mets corner outfielders have produced since Omar's non-deals on July 31:

Daniel Murphy has played roughly 2/3 of the games in left field in August. His dazzling numbers:

.419/.510/.651 for a 1.161 OPS with 2 HR, 2 doubles, 1 triple, and 9 RBI

Nick Evans has played roughly the other 1/3 of games in left field. While Nick struggled during his initial call-up, he's hit much better as of late:

.323/.353/.452 for a .805 OPS with 4 doubles and 2 RBI.

Fernando Tatis has been starting at a corner outfield spot for all but one game since the deadline (8/10). His numbers have dropped off since his hot start, but he's still produced some power, with:

.230/.338/.410 for a .748 OPS with 3 HR, 2 doubles, and 9 RBI

So since the all-star break, the Mets combined corner outfield production from both spots has been, in 135 at-bats:

.311/.396/.497 for an .893 OPS, with 5 HR, 8 doubles, 1 triple, and 20 RBI in 18 games.

If Omar had traded for two outfielders who combined for that type of production in August, he would have been praised. Furthermore, even if he had made a deal for one corner outfielder, the likely result would have been that Murphy and Evans, the two most effective outfielders, would have seen their playing time reduced to nothing, not Tatis - who was red-hot entering August (1.231 OPS in July).

In summary, thus far the decision not to dump prospects in a deal for a corner outfielder looks like a smart move.

It seems pretty clear its going to be the status of the bullpen (second to last in ERA in the NL as of today) that decides whether the Mets sink or swim this year, not the status of our corner outfielders.