Press to Willie: Who’s On First?

With Carlos Delgado out for next few days with a hip injury, the question comes up, if he gets hurt during the season, who will man first base for the New York Mets. Delgado is 35 years old and it will be more difficult to recover from injuries as he gets older. Although the hip injury doesn’t seem to be a major issue, no one knows if it will bother him through the course of the season.

Utility player and pinch hitting phenom, Marlon Anderson, would be a solid replacement for Carlos Delgado. He can handle the glove well at first base and knows his way around the plate. He will not completely replace Delgado’s bat, but he is not a black hole in the lineup. Unfortunately, he was a part of an on-field collision with the new Met rightfielder, Ryan Church, and will be out of the lineup with a sternum contusion.

Damian Easley is a viable utility infielder on the roster who can play first base. He hit very well off the bench for the Mets last year and still shows remnants of his power from his early days in Detroit. Unfortunately, he tore several ligaments in his ankle towards the end of the 2007 season and he’s not ready to come back just yet.

Non-roster invitee Olmedo Saenz can play first base. He’s been the Dodgers backup first and third basemen for the past few years as well as a solid pinch hitter. He performed the role very well with the exception of last year. His batting average dropped over 100 points last season, his power dropped off, and he’ll be 37 years old this coming season. If he were younger, I’d say that last season was an anomaly, but he’s not and he can’t fit the everyday role of a first baseman.

Switch-hitting Ruben Gotay emerged as a solid hitter last season off the bench and filling in as an infielder. Perhaps his defense wasn’t the best, but Delgado isn’t any gold glover and will not be any time soon. Gotay also displayed his ability to hit batting .295. Batting lefty, he also showed some power. He has been working on hitting as a righty this spring in hopes to make the big league ball club; with all these injuries he has a good chance.

Michel Abreu, who had residency issues as a member of the Boston Red Sox, is now a Mets farmhand and a non-roster invitee. He has an excellent bat, hitting .332 in Double-A Binghamton in 2006 and committing only 6 errors in 96 games. He looks like a viable candidate to play first base for the Mets and looks like he would fit in perfectly for an injured Delgado. Although he did not play in the 2007 season, he seems to be a natural hitter so far early in this spring training. He has not missed a beat and will surely open the eyes of Willie Randolph and the Mets front office.