The Mets have re-signed Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal. Which would make a lot more sense if not for the fact that Daniel Murphy, the incumbent 1B (cringe) is lefthanded. For his career, Jacobs has hit an acceptable .263/.325/.505 against righthanded pitching – enough power to kinda sorta justify the crummy OBP – but a horrifying .221/.269/.374 against lefties.
If Murphy’s the first base option, that probably makes Jacobs a platoon pinch hitter.
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Got to endure Jacobs last year with the Royals. With they signed him I was psyched because it gave the Royals a power threat that they lacked. He had a terrible season. Most of the time he looked lost with no plan or clue how to succeed. Good luck, he was a great guy in the community, but a liability on a mediocure team.
Knowing the Mets, they are probably going to move him back to catcher.
Actually that could make sense.
“Actually” in the sense that the move makes little sense otherwise.
I like Jacobs, and I have to believe he has more to offer than he gave the Royals last year. In his years with the Marlins he would anually rank at the top of the list of players who lost most home runs to their home field. But the reason for this move eludes me.
Got to think this is pure insurance. If Murphy can’t perform to an acceptable level, there’s a major league caliber bat ready to step in.
Personally, I think Murphy will be fine, if you accept him as a Magadan type hitter. And if he needs to platoon with Nick Evans, that may be the best thing for Evans. At some point the young guys need to prove they belong, otherwise no amount of off season moves will prove worthwhile.
Dave Magadan’s career on base percentage was .390. Murphy’s is .331. The guys I’d compare him to in terms of maximum possible upside would be Wally Joyner, Hal Morris, Sean Casey, David Segui, Rico Brogna, guys like that – moderate HR power, lots of doubles, not that many walks, so he really has to hit around .300 to be valuable. There used to be more 1B in that mold, Chris Chambliss, Bob Watson, etc.