The Star-Ledger – USATODAY Sports
The New York Mets gave Jordany Valdespin a chance and he failed miserably.
He had the chance to play every day over the past week, and he did not manage to make an impression. Now his role and his future with the Mets are in serious question.
With Ike Davis being demoted to the minor leagues, the Mets decided to move Daniel Murphy to first base and give Valdespin the chance to play second base, his natural position, but the results weren’t good for either him or the Mets. In six games as the starting second baseman, Valdespin had three hits in 23 at-bats with four strikeouts and no walks. He hit from the leadoff spot, where he did more harm than good for the Mets lineup.
Valdespin was removed from the starting lineup for the series opener against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night, and now his role is undetermined going forward. Outside of a couple oh pinch-hit home runs, he has mostly failed as a bench player this year, and now with this latest failure as a starting player, he doesn’t appear capable of contributing anything positive to the Mets.
He has had plenty of opportunities to prove himself this season, and now the Mets need to give opportunities to other young players like Juan Lagares and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. This could leave hiss playing time as sparse as ever, but that’s simply a case of Valdespin getting what he’s earned, which is very little.
At this point, there’s little reason for the Mets to keep Valdespin.
If not for his bad reputation, he would be a player the Mets could trade way. But because the rest of baseball wont touch him, they Mets will have to consider either sending him to the minors or releasing him from the organization, because after several opportunities, including his recent opportunity to be a starter, he’s proven himself to be of no use to the Mets in any way.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google+.
