By Angelina Heather Rizzo and Josh Hartman

Angelina Heather Rizzo:

Amed Rosario likely will see his Shortstop position handed over to upcoming star and developing SS Andrés Giménez, but his Mets tenure isn’t over, reports claim.

The Mets will look to insert Rosario in multiple positions all over the field, as his services to the team are still valuable.

Also read: Will the Mets move Rosario to CF?

Here is a look at Rosario’s 2019 and 2020 both:

In 2019, Rosario hit 15 home runs and 72 RBI’s with a .287 Batting Average.

In the 2020 Covid shortened season, Rosario posted up a OAA of 82, -0.2 WAR, 4 home runs, 15 batted in, with a .252 batting average.

I personally think it’s good that the Mets are not wanting to cut ties with the young athlete because Rosario is talented and can provide a quality arm and bat at another position, which is a win for the Mets and provides depth on the chart.

In 2020, Giménez had a 1.0 WAR, hit 3 home runs, 40 RBI’s and a .263 batting average in 49 games.

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Giménez looks to have a solid 2021, and will no doubt be exciting to watch at Shortstop. I think moving Rosario to another position is the best for the Mets, who will have two young stars still contribute big when needed at their respective positions.

Josh Hartman:
Man plans and god laughs, right? From Baseball America’s 2017 8th ranked prospect to “additional organizational depth”? Well, it sounds quite negative if we put it that way. Let’s change the narrative here – “By utilizing him at several positions across the diamond, he can add more value to our beloved Mets.” Why the italics and underscoring in the previous sentence? That, my friends, is because every article that Mets Junkies puts out there is not simply an entertainment piece about baseball and the Mets. We are here to teach! The Latin term utilitatem (nominative utilitas) refers to “usefulness, serviceableness, profit” – All very significant and valuable traits that any baseball owner or manager worth his salt would hold in the highest regard. In essence, “utilitas” is the Latin term for WAR!

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That’s right, close your eyes and picture it, savor it… the Founding Fathers of Sabermetrics – gathered around a bridge table in someone’s basement, rummaging through box scores and scorecards, rattling off statistical figures about the fly ball to ground ball ratios of Rod Carew; mouths agape as unconventional theories were concocted of how John Milner was actually superior to Hank Aaron – it was the infancy of data analysis, the quest for information to analyze our sport as none had ever done before… All with the collective goal of obtaining the one holy grail which would prove their scientific theory – VALUE.

VALUE – that subjective trait that no two people will ever fully agree upon. My grandma used to say -“One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. To me, it was her interpretation of the deviations of VALUE; The fact that data could always be interpreted to skew one’s perception of an argument. To her, this was her pretty shabby legal defense, as she never could prove that my grandpa actually preferred arsenic and hemlock to Sirloin. Either way, the statement proves relevant!
Yes, back to the utilitas of our former blue-chip prospect. As Angelina mentioned before, it actually wasn’t good in 2020 – it wasn’t good at all! A negative .2 WAR? I’m not an analytics expert, but that sounds like a score that would have only been celebrated if it was Robby Cano’s testosterone count. With regards to playing baseball though, I’d say that A) He wasn’t very useful 😎 I wouldn’t call him even serviceable and C) He ain’t gonna make much profit (relatively speaking) if he hits like he did in 2020. So in all three facets of utilitas – that Latin WAR sure does seem accurate!

So what to do now?

A) Give him another shot at his organic position of Shortstop? I guess that’s one option. Some may argue (me being one) that the talent of Rosario far exceeds the talent of our new shiny toy Andres Gimenez. But who am I to argue with stats? In this “what have you done for me lately” business, the “second chance” argument is a losing one and even an ardent fan of Amed’s talent couldn’t defend his paltry walk rate, and his obvious offensive regression from the 2019 season.

Also read: Hello, is it me (Nolan Arenado) you’re looking for?

B) Trade him? Hey, back to my felonious Grandma’s expression – maybe a team does still see Amed as more of an uncooked filet mignon than a cyanide tablet. It only takes one insightful GM, but let’s call a steak a steak here, the consensus is that Amed’s more likely to fetch Golden-Coral steak prices than Morton’s, so why trade a potential packed filet mignon for an already cooked Sizzler T-Bone? You get my point – a trade most likely won’t make any Mets fans (especially vegan ones) happy.

C) C, in Standardized tests with 4 possible answers, has a statistical probability of being the correct answer a whopping 25%! So, you see where I’m going with this. As my co-author eluded to atop, having Rosario around would actually be the most preferential option, even if it isn’t at his native position of shortstop! To combine all of the lessons I’ve imparted upon you above, let’s provide some data to substantiate this claim.

Knowns and Variables:

• “WAR = Utilitas”
• Utilitas (latin) = “Utility”(English)
• Filet Mignon > Sizzler T-Bone (in any state)
• Grandma = Delusional murderer or Terrible Chef
• Rosario Utility 2020 = -.2

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Based upon the above knowns and “unknowns” or variables, and utilizing a deductive argument theory, we can infer that:
The key to increasing Amed’s Value, whether external or internal is to:

1) Maximize the number of positions he can play in the field (Hence the term “Utility” player – from the Latin “Util…… ) In all seriousness, many feel that he can’t handle Centerfield due to his mental lapses on the field and his supposed “poor” baseball instincts. I disagree. I think his speed and athleticism make him a strong candidate to pick the position up, but I do not expect a seamless transition. I do, however, believe that any other position, he will perform as plus OOA (outs above average) player.

2) Although international winter leagues are in flux at the moment, it would behoove the Mets to strongly advocate his involvement in the Liga de Beisbol Dominicano ( I have tried to translate this into English, but to no avail) over the winter. A move from shortstop to other positions is usually the most successful transition, but it should be based on his personal desire to better himself, and this could be a step in the right direction. He can work on his pitch selection and defensive versatility. There is a laundry list of shortstops who have made moves to other positions, and I don’t see why an athlete of Amed’s caliber can’t follow this pattern.

That’s all I got on this topic! But thanks so much for reading, and stay safe and healthy, or in other words, don’t swipe right on my paroled Grandma’s pic on tinder!

Also read: Free Agent Target: Liam Hendriks

Photo from the New York Mets