Spring training is just around the corner, with games starting on Feb. 20, and former GM Jim Bowden of The Athletic says watching the Mets new infield is one of the reasons he’s excited. He’s right, too, especially with two new infielders, Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco, learning new positions on the fly.
Bowden is more optimistic about Bichette than Polanco, which feels odd. They’re both experienced infielders who have switched positions before, but Polanco has done it as a middle infielder, while Bichette was forced to move from short to second because of struggles with his range and arm.
The former GM thinks Bichette will be find handling issues like positioning, the quickness with which the ball gets on top of him and body control on plays in front of him. But utility infielders all talk about how much different the arm angle is at third, and Bichette will be attempting to learn all this on the fly in real games.
Polanco, however, has spent extensive time working on his game at first. It’s an easier transition athletically, although Bowden makes a good point about whether Polanco can master the art of scooping low throws out of the dirt, which was the one big strength of former first baseman Pete Alonso.
Another important question here is how the other new infielders will mesh with star shortstop Francisco Lindor. It was a clubhouse argument with second baseman Jeff McNeil, after all, that got McNeil traded and sent cross country to the Athletics.
Will Lindor get upset if there’s a timing play with Bichette on a ground ball in the hole that makes him look bad? How about a botched double-play ball with new second baseman Marcus Semien, or a 3-6-3 ground ball where Polanco either makes an errant throw or can’t get back to cover first and finish the double play?
The ability of the infielders to protect the pitching staff is a potential issue here as well. New closer Devin Williams isn’t nearly as much of a strikeout pitcher as his predecessor Edwin Diaz was, and he’s going to need the extra range the infielder will supposedly supply in GM David Stearns’ quest for run prevention.
It’s all going to be fascinating to watch, and as Bowden points out, it matters. The NL East race was close during the first half of the year, and assuming the Mets are able to return to that high level of play, they can’t afford to be losing games defensively with players who were added specially to provide a boost in the infield.