According to doctors, David Wright suffered a strained intercostal muscle in his rib cage while carrying the country on his back playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and will be re-evaluated after three to five days rest.

Manager Terry Collins is not optimistic about Wright’s chances of playing on opening day, citing a similar injury sustained by Daniel Murphy in February, which he has yet to fully recover from.

Collins noted that the team will look internally for options to fill the void at third base. Leading candidates include Zach Lutz, Brian Bixler, Brandon Hicks and Justin Turner, who is battling his own injury problems.

Perhaps the most intriguing option of the bunch is Lutz (if by intriguing, we mean the one that can hit).

All jokes aside, Lutz may be the Mets’ best option as a replacement for Wright. Already 26 years old, Lutz has been posting gaudy numbers at AAA over the past few seasons.

Last year Lutz hit at a .299/.410/.496 mark in 72 games at Buffalo, posting a very impressive 14.3% walk rate. In 2011 he posted a 1.014 OPS at AAA.

Minor league numbers like that are usually enough to earn a player a spot on the roster, but Lutz has the misfortune of being a corner infielder, so he is blocked at third and first by David Wright and Ike Davis, respectively.

The fact that Lutz has struggled with injuries hasn’t helped either; 2012 was the first season Lutz eclipsed 70 games played since 2009.

Unlike Reese Havens, however, Lutz’s injury problems haven’t hampered his ability to flat out hit.

While he’ll never be a superstar power hitter, Lutz undeniably has a higher ceiling than Turner, Bixler or Hicks.

For this reason, Lutz deserves to go north with the team and open up the season at the hot corner, assuming he can stay healthy for the last two weeks of spring training.

In a season which the Mets will not realistically contend, it is better to give Lutz a chance to show what he has at the major league level, and possibly accrue some trade value.

If Lutz can perform well in Wright’s absence, it would not be surprising to see Sandy Alderson shop him around in exchange for outfield help, much like he did with Jefry Marte when he swapped him for Collin Cowgill. The difference here is that if Lutz can prove he can hit in the majors, he could bring back more value than the less-experienced Marte.

This is a make or break season for Lutz and the Mets. If the team is to get any value out of him, be it on the field or in a trade, it is imperative for him to be the opening day third baseman.

Share this: Email

Facebook

Print

Reddit

Twitter

More

Pinterest

LinkedIn



Tumblr

