In the abstract, it shouldn’t be a huge problem that David Wright and Daniel Murphy, the team’s expected 3B and 2B, might start the year on the disabled list. Both have injuries that aren’t considered major, and Opening Day, for all the attention associated with it, is just 1 of 162.
The problem is twofold. One is the replacements, who apparently will be Justin Turner at 3B and Jordany Valdespin at 2B, are poor bets to come close to Wright and Murphy, offensively or defensively. (Seriously, Valdespin is a likely defensive downgrade at 2B. I kid you not.) So for as long as either one misses, the Mets fight a significant downgrade at either of these two infield positions. (That Turner sprained his ankle this past weekend is problematic as well, though x-rays were negative, so the hope is that Turner returns later this week.)
And that’s a problem because the Mets, as constructed, need their infield to make up for the enormous deficit in talent elsewhere in the lineup, from 75 OPS+ in 2012 catcher John Buck to the outfield. Lucas Duda is still the left fielder; Collin Cowgill and his sub-.700 OPS in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League is in center; Marlon Byrd, whose 33 OPS+ in 2012 was lower than that of Jason Bay or Jonathon Niese, is the projected number 3 hitter, as per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
So there’s every reason to believe that if Wright, Murphy, Ruben Tejada and Ike Davis all max out their 2013 performances, the Mets still might not have sufficient offense.
But every game with Wright and Murphy missing time just makes that task even harder. The Mets are set up for a season that allows for nothing to go wrong. Already, the injuries make the climb even steeper.
