The Mets have made a number of notable upgrades heading into the 2021 season, and now boast a prolific lineup with a bolstered rotation, but one other area of improvement has Luis Rojas particularly excited.
Defense has been a big topic of conversation around the team since its struggles in the field last season, when the Mets ranked 25th in the league in defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs. With rotation arms like David Peterson and Marcus Stroman relying on contact outs over strikeouts, unlike Jacob deGrom, defense will be pivotal in 2021 if New York wants to win the division, and Rojas believes the team is in as good a shape as he can remember to take on that challenge.
“I think we progressed really well in camp,” Rojas said in a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. “This is probably the best camp defensively I’ve seen the past few years that we’ve had. I think we showed a really good camp from a defensive standpoint.”
There is plenty of room for the Mets to improve when it comes to their collective defense, especially after posting a -25 DRS in 2020. With seven of the top eight teams in DRS making the playoffs last season, including the Dodgers and Rays, who finished third and sixth overall, respectively, who played for the World Series last season. A strong defense coupled with a deepened rotation and a strengthened lineup could make the Mets a true contender for a deep playoff run, and if they want to reach that point, some key positions will have to see better fielding this year.
One of the biggest defensive concerns is J.D. Davis at third base. Davis posted a DRS of -8 last year, second-worst in all of baseball among third basemen, in front of only Austin Riley of the division rival Braves. In center field, Brandon Nimmo was sixth-worst in the league with a DRS of -5, while in left field, Dominic Smith will continue to settle in to what is a new position with Pete Alonso locked in at first base.
“Coming into camp, those are three positions…that we were focused on our defense,” Rojas said. “I think we saw a really good defensive Brandon Nimmo…he was taking away hits, making catches he should make. There was one that fell that was a miscommunication that was addressed. Dom is getting thee experience and moving a little better. There’s still room there for improvement so we’ll keep with that. And J.D. played really well.”
Rojas and the Mets will see if that encouraging assessment proves accurate when the team takes the field to start the season against the Nationals on Thursday night.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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