PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.—As the Mets’ infield coach, Tim Teufel is responsible for transforming the team’s defense into a reinforced wall. Much of the team’s fate in 2015 will hinge on the success of its young pitchers, so the significance of making plays behind them cannot be overstated.

With that in mind, Teufel spent the winter crunching numbers and studying reams of data provided by the Mets’ analytics department. As he read the reports, he kept coming back to the same conclusion.

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