A lot has been made over the offseason about Michael Cuddyer‘s health. The Mets new corner outfielder is 36 years old entering the 2015 season, and he’s coming off of three injury plagued seasons with the Colorado Rockies.
While I understand people’s concerns, I’ve wondered to myself if Cuddyer’s injury woes have been a bit overstated, and whether or not playing in the conditions of Colorado played a major role…
Cuddyer made his debut with the Minnesota Twins back in 2001, but didn’t see regular playing time until his age 25 season in 2004. Over the course of eight years as a starting player with the Twins, Cuddyer played in 1,055 games. In that same time, he missed a total of 241 games, 91 coming in 2008 when he injured his finger sliding into third base and later being hit in the foot in a minor league rehab game.
If you take out the impact-type injuries of 2008, Cuddyer missed an average of 21.43 games per season in his eight-year starting career with
the Twins; if you want to include ’08, that average goes up to 30.13.
Compare that to his three seasons in Colorado, where Cuddyer missed 206 games–that’s 35 less games than he did in Minnesota in five less years–good for an average of 68.7 missed games per year. Even if Cuddyer’s flukey 2008 campaign is factored in, that’s still well over twice as many missed games per year on average than when he was in Minnesota.
One’s injury frequency doesn’t just double over night, and stay that way over a span of years after having a much different track record prior to changing teams.
There’s a perception among industry experts the dry atmosphere and high altitude in Colorado as well going in and out of that climate so frequently over the course of a year may affect one’s ability to maintain health. There’s no question the Rockies have had a slew of injuries over the years, and to notable players as well. In addition to Cuddyer, star players Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez have had a continuous struggle to stay healthy and on the field, among others.
“The Rockies always seem to have injury issues and they spent a lot effort trying to document whether and how altitude plays a role,” MLB.com Rockies reporter Thomas Harding told me when asked about the affect Colorado may have on it’s players.
There are some in Colorado who have suggested Cuddyer’s inability to be a designated hitter in the National League have led to frequent visits to the disabled list for him. But in fairness, in 14 years–11 of those spent in the American League–canvasing 1,419 total games played, Cuddyer has started at DH a grand total of 32 times.
Another frequent talking point is Cuddyer’s age, and that it’s very possible that at age 36 – he may be breaking down. I spoke with FanDuel Injury Insider Will Carroll on the subject, who offers a different opinion.
“I don’t think the age really has much to do with it,” Carroll told me. “There’s a survivor effect to some level. A guy who’s older is there because he’s still talented enough to play, whereas most his age broke down or lost skills.”
Now that he’s moving from Colorado to New York, it may be fair to think that his injuries won’t be as frequent, or at least as lengthy as they were with the Rockies.
“I think that if he’s healthy for the first month or so, he’ll be fine,” Carroll went on to say. “There’s always some loss of knowledge between new medical staffs and approaches, but older guys tend to know what they want/need anyway.”
I don’t expect Cuddyer to play 162 games in 2015, but there seems to be a direct correlation between Cuddyer’s spike in health problems and his move to Colorado. Cuddyer is going to be a big part of the Mets offense if healthy this upcoming season, and I’m expecting him to be on the field a lot more than people think.
Just Mets 