On Friday, Terry Collins started Kirk Nieuwenhuis in left field instead of Michael Cuddyer.
The immediate conclusion onlookers drew was Cuddyer’s knee – in which he has been diagnosed with a bone bruise – was the cause for Nieuwenhuis playing, and Cuddyer was simply unable to go.
But that was not the case, as Collins said Nieuwenhuis was playing because of his stellar performance last Sunday when he hit three home runs against the Diamondbacks.
Collins said there were no plans of shifting to a platoon, but suggested Cuddyer’s playing time could be reduced if he didn’t start to perk up at the plate.
So on Saturday night in St. Louis, Cuddyer took steps towards restoring faith in his manager, who entered the game hitting just .143 with one walk and 12 strikeouts in his last 16 games, dating back to June 20.
Cuddyer slugged a solo home run and two singles in a 3-for-5 night at the plate, although the club fell 12-2 to the team with the best record in the sport.
“Personally, it was good, but you would trade that for a win any day,” Cuddyer said at his locker after the loss.
Cuddyer had actually perked up in the sporadic games he had played just before the All-Star break, entering play on Saturday 5-for-his-last-13 with a home run, although those five hits were over four games dating back to July 6.
The Mets can acquire anyone they want this summer. But they’re not going anywhere unless their key veteran in the lineup starts hitting and starts doing the things he was signed to do.
Cuddyer’s performance as of late has been very promising, and perhaps playing a little less frequently at this point in his career could help keep him fresher and more productive. It’s not ideal given the Mets offense is so bad, and the Mets are paying him to be an everyday player (while giving up their first round draft pick 2015 in the process).
But between that and the situation with his knee, the Mets have to figure out how to get the most out of him now, even if that means platooning him or turning him into a part-time player and finding another way to get production out of the position.
Just Mets 