Amed Rosario hasn’t appeared at an infield position other than shortstop during his four seasons with the Mets, but versatility could be required in 2021.
To that end, manager Luis Rojas indicated Wednesday he expects Rosario to play some third base, in addition to shortstop, after last year’s emergence of Andres Gimenez.
The 22-year-old Gimenez became the starting shortstop for the final month-plus of the 60-game season, with Rosario on the bench. In previous seasons, Mets officials had discussed the idea of Rosario playing the outfield.
“I know the outfield position has been mentioned before, but that is something he’s not doing and we’re not planning on doing right now with him,” Rojas said on a Zoom call. “But he’s working at shortstop, which is his main position. For him to expand, probably play a little bit of third base I think is something that will definitely help him and he’ll help the team with.”
Rojas added he’s already had conversations with the 25-year-old Rosario about learning third base — a position that was mostly divided between J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil last season. Luis Guillorme and Todd Frazier also received playing time at the position.
McNeil figures heavily into the second-base equation following Robinson Cano’s PED suspension that will cost him the entire season. Davis can play third and left field, in addition to DH if the National League again adopts the rule for 2021.
Amed Rosario N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg“We have had conversations about it, about [Rosario] throwing from that angle and him practicing some of those plays he can make from third base and just learn the position a little bit so he can expand,” Rojas said. “But he will definitely help a lot if he expands his versatility and we have some more moving parts.”
Rosario endured a disappointing season offensively, slashing .252/.272/.371 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 147 plate appearances.
Rojas mentioned Gimenez and Guillorme as other candidates to play second base with McNeil, and isn’t discounting the possibility the Mets will dive into the free-agent market to address the infield. DJ LeMahieu is the biggest of those available names. The Indians are also shopping All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor.
“I am not going to get in the way of the negotiations our front office, our leadership group is doing,” Rojas said. “But there are ways to definitely fill in and do some things for next year to stay competitive as a team even without Robinson Cano.”
Rojas said he is rooting for the DH to return, but has begun pondering the possibility it won’t be implemented, potentially forcing tough lineup decisions. Left unsaid was the possibility the Mets might sign George Springer, the top-free agent outfielder on the market, to solidify center field.
“It will really help us to have the DH with the hitters that we have and having Dom [Smith] and [Pete] Alonso there, sharing maybe first base and DH,” Rojas said. “If we fall into that where there’s no DH, Dom with his versatility will have more time in left field to have Alonso in the lineup like we’re looking at or even having a rotation. Those are some of the things we have thought about and we can talk about.”







