Imagine you had been locked in your basement since May to see how long one can survive without Oreos, then suddenly entered the Mets clubhouse. After a quick look around, you no doubt would conjure up a line repeatedly used by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
“Who are those guys?”
Catcher Rene Rivera, claimed by the Cubs on waivers Saturday, has joined a growing list of once-household Mets names who now are elsewhere. Rivera barely was beaten out the door by Curtis Granderson, who was traded Friday to the Dodgers. Rivera hit .230 with eight homers and 23 RBIs this season.
Neil Walker, gone. Addison Reed, gone. Lucas Duda gone, Jay Bruce, gone. Now Granderson and Rivera. And don’t even try recognizing the pitching staff substitutes who are filling in to cover the injuries.
“It’s definitely weird coming in here today, not only with Curtis gone but with Jay and Neil, Addison. Different feel, different [clubhouse] than the last time I was in here,” said catcher Kevin Plawecki, who was summoned back from Triple-A Las Vegas in the wake of Rivera’s departure.
“It’s definitely different, but I wouldn’t call it strange,” Michael Conforto said Saturday before the Mets beat the Marlins 8-1 at Citi Field. “It sucks to not have those guys. They were great teammates and great mentors, but you have to look at it as an exciting new experience with all the young guys.”
One of the young guys, Plawecki, is a familiar face and punctuated his return with a two-run homer to cap a seven-run sixth inning.
Plawecki was hitting .328 with nine homers and 45 RBIs at Las Vegas after being sent down in May. Plawecki has been a .206 hitter in 131 career games with the Mets from 2015 to this year. This is another chance.
“I don’t need to show too much. I don’t need to put too much pressure on myself,” said Plawecki, 26. “Just continue to play the same game I was playing down there and continue to have good at-bats and just continue to get better. I’m happy to be back with these guys and hopefully we can finish the season strong.”
Manager Terry Collins, who noted Rivera, “caught and he did what we thought he was going to do” after the Mets signed him as a minor league free agent in April last year, said Plawecki certainly will get playing time. Collins, though, just as quickly said how well the other catcher, Travis d’Arnaud, swung the bat Friday night. But yeah, it’s put-up time for Plawecki. Collins was very plain about what he wants to see.
“Improvement. That he got better,” Collins said. “When he left here [in May] one of the things we felt needed to be done — everybody you ever talked to about him when he was in the minor leagues said ‘This guy’s gonna hit.’ So I told him, ‘Go hit, go put some big numbers up and he did.’… We’re reaching the stage where Kevin Plawecki gets his opportunity to show us he’s here to stay.
“I don’t think we’re saying we’re handing the reigns over to Kevin Plawecki,” Collins said. “But certainly, Kevin is not going to sit and play once a week. He’s going to play three out of six for sure.”
As the Mets continue to tear it down, one area of concern was filling the leadership void created by Granderson’s absence. He was a clubhouse force who managed 19 homers and 52 RBIs despite a .228 average this season.
“We are certainly excited for him getting a chance to play in the postseason,” Collins said of Granderson. “Very disappointing and tough for us. Huge piece of our team the last four years here. Just a huge presence in the clubhouse. What he did on the field, those numbers will follow him forever, but the impact he made with others in that clubhouse is tough to replace. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever had around, ever been around and we’ll miss him.”