As spring training and the 2015 season gets closer and closer, New York Mets fans are anxiously hoping for a return to winning baseball. Many in the fan base believe this can be the year their team returns to prominence.
At the end of January there will always be questions to ask, things to complain about, and places where improvement is needed. A few of the hot topics for the Mets this year are the shortstop position, left-handed relievers, and payroll. All of these areas are going to be factors in determining the success of the team this year.
These issues are obvious and therefore the center of attention for all followers of the Mets, but none will have the biggest impact on the 2015 season. In my opinion, the factor that will be the leading determinant of the success of the team is the third baseman and captain, David Wright.
2014 was unquestionably a down year for David. He hit .267/.324/.363 and that falls way below his career averages of .298/.377/.494. On top of that, the captain only hit 8 homeruns, the lowest total of his career. The fact is that 2015 must be a big bounce back year for Wright in order for the Mets to make any type of noise in the National League East. And all signs show that things seem to be falling into place for him to return to his All-Star form. First and foremost, he should finally be healthy again.
The shoulder injury that plagued David from the beginning of June until he was shut down in early September clearly took its toll on his production. After a six week rehab in Port St. Lucie, Wright has been conducting a regular offseason and there is no reason to expect him to be less than 100 percent on opening day.
Beyond health, things like an improved lineup around him and closer fences in right field are both going to work in his favor. Lucas Duda has proved to be a valuable middle of the lineup asset. Travis d’Arnaud showed flashes of why he had such high praise as a prospect. Another year should make him more comfortable and productive; the same goes for Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares. All of these guys holding up their own weight in the lineup will make it harder for opposing pitchers to completely avoid David, hence giving him more pitches to hit.
Furthermore, the winter signing of Michael Cuddyer has been met with criticism from certain baseball pundits. However, Cuddyer is one of Wright’s closest friends, is a proven right handed bat from the corner outfield position (a hole in the roster going into the offseason), and can provide a great locker room presence that the entire team can feed off of. This can help the captain both on and off the field.
It is imperative that David Wright can get off to a good start this spring. Hitting well early will do wonders for his confidence and prove that he can still produce like one of the best third basemen in baseball. Maybe it seems like forever since David Wright has played like, well, David Wright, but there is no reason to not believe that a healthy season can’t propel him to the player we all know and love. Don’t fail to remember how good he can be when clicking on all cylinders.
In the excitement of the offseason it could be easy to look at what the Mets don’t have. Places where management should spend money to improve the roster and ultimately the product that will take the field from April to (hopefully) October. What are most important though aren’t the pieces they don’t have, but rather the ones that they already do. Particularly the one who wears the number 5 uniform because he is the piece that will be counted on at the core of the lineup as the key run producer. If he plays to his potential 2015 can be a year to remember for the New York Mets. Without him, it is going to be an agonizingly long one.
