Right now, the Mets have a first baseman. Fernando Tatis has backed up Delgado all spring, and he's...

Right now, the Mets have a first baseman. Fernando Tatis has backed up Delgado all spring, and he's been fantastic. You thought last season's .297/.369/.484 line was a bit of a mirage? I did. Well, this season it's .358/.417/.566. No, I know that's only 60 plate appearances and he's not really that good, but Tatis' career line is .266/.348/.447, which is better than Murphy or anyone else at hand is likely to do, right now.

Rob Neyer

almost 3 years ago James Kannengieser 13 comments 0 recs |

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I was kind of thinking that since

Third basemen shifting to first have had really good outcomes on the defensive end, think Youk, Pujols and Tex. UZR/150 has Tatis at -2.5 at 1st but with everyday playing time maybe his ~.800 OPS and defense will be close to equaling Delgado’s ~.830 OPS (ZiPS RoS) and probable ~-3.5 UZR/150 D.

by Sokojoe on May 15, 2009 5:14 PM EDT reply actions

Tatis wasn't particularly good at third base though was he?

by Gina on May 15, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Not during the FanGraphs UZR data era (2002-later)

but his career was falling apart at that time, I’m not sure how his D was before that. Irregardless, in limited sample size, Pujols was -4 UZR/150 and Tex was -15, Tatis is -11 from 2002 on and Youk was good (15.) So, in conclusion, I dunno, Tatis could be good at 1st, I guess we’ll find out.

by Sokojoe on May 15, 2009 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions