Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A Perfect Fit

Grady Sizemore is a free agent.  The Mets haven't had a stable outfield since the middle of the 2006 season.  Grady can play any outfield position.  The Mets seem to like to play musical chairs in the outfield.  Signing Sizemore could definitely help the Mets.

For the past few seasons Grady has been the definition of injury-prone.  It seemingly started with a rolled ankle against the Yankees and then things snowballed into knee issues.  But that might not be the worst thing in the world.  Despite what the popular opinion of the Mets medical staff may be, they worked with Carlos Beltran through terrible knee issues and he came back to be traded for a top pitching prospect.  It may be a tiny light in the dark, but the medical staff has at least proven they can deal with bad knees.

Away from the injuries, Grady was productive for the Indians.  In eight seasons he has averaged 25 home runs, 39 doubles, and 24 stolen bases per season.  Take a moment to imagine the extra-base hits he would get in Citi Field, even with the adjusted dimensions.  And now imagine the ground he would cover in the outfield.  He would be a plus in the old, huge Citi Field and the smaller outfield just means he would cover an even higher percentage of ground.  Sizemore is also fearless in the outfield.  Yes, that may have contributed to his injuries but it is also quite a contrast from Lucas Duda's tentative approach to playing right field.

Grady Sizemore has said he would be open to playing any outfield position.  Putting him in either corner would benefit Angel Pagan in center field.  There is no way to know why Pagan struggled fielding at times last year, but if any of the struggles were due to an increased level of pressure and ground to cover, Sizemore would change that.  Pagan wouldn't have to worry about covering the gaps on both sides because they would be covered by their own fielders.  Bay, Pagan, and Sizemore could really cover a lot of outfield.

The Mets have said they aren't interested in Grady Sizemore.  However, things could change and maybe they would consider him.  The injury risk is there but it's in so many of this year's free agents.  This injury risk just has incredible upside.

Let's Go Mets!

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