The Mets are going to option infielder Luis Guillorme, per Andy Martino of SNY. Guillorme’s roster spot will go to infielder Mark Vientos, whose promotion was reported on earlier today.
Guillorme, 28, debuted with the Mets in 2018. He served as a frequently-optioned depth piece in his first couple of seasons but has generally been a fixture of the club since the 2020 season. Though not a superstar, he has been a useful member of the club as a guy who can do a lot of things well.
From the start of 2020 to the present, Guillorme has appeared in 228 games for the Mets and stepped to the plate 627 times. He only has three home runs but has drawn walks in 12% of those appearances while striking out just a 16.1% rate. His .273/.362/.335 batting line in that time translates to a 105 wRC+, indicating he’s been a bit above average. He’s done all that while moving between second base, third base and shortstop, generally considered to be a passable defender or better at any of those spots.
Guillorme’s bat has taken a bit of a step backward here in 2023, as he has been punched out in 22.1% of his plate appearances while slashing .233/.324/.267 for a wRC+ of 77. The Mets are off to a sluggish start this year, currently 20-23 and in fourth place in the National League East. It seems they are looking to shake things up to try to find some more offense, bringing up Vientos and his .333/.416/.688 Triple-A batting line.
It’s easy to see why the Mets see that as an upgrade worth pursuing, but there will be a bit of risk on the defensive side of things. Guillorme was backing up several infield positions and the club will be a bit short-handed there, particularly up the middle. Vientos and Baty will have third covered but neither has any recent work at second or short. With Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil getting the starts up the middle most days, it would appear Eduardo Escobar is the backup there. He has plenty of shortstop experience but only two innings at the position since 2018, while McNeil has just one career inning there, which was earlier this season.
Guillorme will head to the minors to try to get back into good form at the dish. From a service time perspective, he came into this season with three years and 167 days, meaning he’s already gone over the four-year mark. Assuming the Mets recall him again at some point this season, he’ll remain on track for free agency after the 2025 season. However, once he spends 20 days in the minors, he’ll burn his final option season and be slated to be out of options in 2024. He’s making $1.6MM this year and would be eligible for an arbitration raise this winter if the Mets tender him a contract.
Lolmets they need to send the whole team down. It’s time to rebuild and start trading everyone off so they can get the number 1 pick. Maybe by 2030 the LolMets can finally make the playoffs again.
Little Stevie is a doofus. Nice.
Little Stevie…
Your StevieDees are too tight.
Brief and to the point.
Hey Bronx why you always stalking me bud? Are you in love with me?
That’s like accusing a dart player of stalking a bullseye, junior.
Hey buddy don’t make me call the nursing home and tell them to stop letting you get Internet time.
Do it. You ain’t got the huevos.
The whole team. Ok. Alonso,. McNeil, Lindor, Nimmo, Baty, Alvarez, Robertson. etc. Stop
Stevie feels ten feet tall right now. And as strong as a ox.
Thank god this guy is off the team. Very smooth defender but one of the worst hitters I’ve seen thats gotten consistent playing time througout the years. I don’t mind if a player can only hit singles, but that player needs to be able to steal bases and bat around the .300 range. Guillmore basically never came through with men on base his whole career as well. Gets one hit a year with RISP. They should try and trade him for any relief help they can get. Basically a worse version of Isiah-Kiner Falefa
“Very smooth defender but one of the worst hitters I’ve seen thats gotten consistent playing time througout the years”
You must be a brand new fan then. Guillorme is a contract hitter who is usually around league average with his OPS. He also hasn’t gotten “consistent playing time” (because he is a back up utility player who only plays when there’s an injury or to give someone a day off) so I don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s only ever had more than 132 ABs in a season in one of his 5+ seasons in the league and that was last year, when he registered 1.5 WAR in 102 games, which is great from your back up utility player.
WAR and OPS+ are stats people use to try and justify a bad player’s performance. I don’t care that he was worth 1.5 WAR, hes not a major league caliber player. If you need to bring up all these fancy stats, the player just isn’t that good. Can your fancy stats tell me how clutch hes been? Iv watched all the games, as I said before, he gets one clutch hit per season. Hes a net negative, the team has other players better than him
I get it, facts don’t matter, gotcha.
You have no clue.
@metzfan if I have “no clue”, why was Guillorme sent down and not someone else/released. I know you’re going to respond with “He WaS thE onLy OnE wItH aN optIOn LefT” . If hes just so valuable, why not just release Pham, VogelFat, Escobar,etc.? Its because hes worse than all of those guys
No. It’s because he had minor league options.
Sits with popcorn and lemonade to watch Mets fans turn on each other.
Has anyone said “fire Buck Showalter” yet or will everyone have to wait for June 1st for those posts?
And has any one of you Mets fans seen your good buddy @CanoSucks? It seems he’s never around when the Mets are struggling. According to him, it’s because he has a life. It’s crazy, he always has a life when the Mets are struggling, but then is back when they’re doing well – like he doesn’t have a life when they’re doing well.
Poor guy. He never has things perfect. When he has a life, the Mets are struggling, but when the Mets are doing well, he doesn’t have a life so he drowns his sorrows on this site celebrating the Mets success.
I guess we’ll know his life is perfect when the Mets are doing well and @CanoeSucks is not around because it would mean that he has a life and while the Mets are having success.
@MarlinsFanBase While me and Canosucks agree on a lot of stuff, you are correct that he doesn’t show up much on this site unless the team is doing well. The Mets could be 0-150 and I would still watch the games
@LFGMets (Metsin7)
Yep, and I notice which among you are here through thick and thin. While I do have fun with the jabbing at you guys, I do respect those of you who are around even through the tough times because, as you all can imagine, I fully understand how tough it is to love a team and stick by them even as they cause so much pain. We are the true fans, and I respect true fans, even as we root for rival teams.
As for those fair-weather fans like @CanoSucks, I don’t hold them in the same regard as true fans. Those fair-weather ones are the ones that tend to talk the loudest and say the dumbest things, but are never around when the team struggles and they’re never around when it’s time to sit at the table for a full helping of crow-flavored humble pie like all of us true fans do.
Keep being a true Mets fan through the thick and the thin. Baseball is a beautiful sport that we all love.
Finally
NYM have serious struggles. PHI have serious struggles. STL have serious struggles. I’d wager on all 3 to correct as season goes along. Posting “lolmets” all day is neither amusing nor clever.
Phillies looked great last week and then boom…struggling again. Turner’s year one needs to get going quick.
But yes, to your point, some of these teams will get hot. Unfortunately they may have to settle for a Wild Card if anything.
@VonPurplesHayes I’d argue that the Phillies hitting is twice as good as the Mets. I think Phillies starting pitching is better as well, these guys just need to get into a rythmn. If Philly improves their bullpen at the deadline, I can see them getting that first Wild Card and going straight to the World Series again. No team in the division has any shot of catching the Braves barring a major injury to the Brave’s pitching staff. The Braves are just an all around amazing team from top to bottom
LFGMets I agree about the Phillies but in regards to the Braves, don’t you think they have already suffered some major setbacks with their starting rotation?? They basically have Morton, Strider (innings restricted), and three AAA-depth options. If they lose one more guy, I could see some nervous sweating going on.
@Ignorant Son-of-b A rotation of Strider, Fried, and Kyle Wright at your top is easily better than anyone else in the NL East. I’m actually not a huge Kyle Wright fan, I don’t think hes that good. With that being said, the Braves are probably the most well run organization, it wouldn’t surprise me if they traded for a front-line starter to aid in their playoff run. Its too early to tell whos a seller yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they went out and traded for someone like Lucas Giolito. The Braves get these players that you just get a good feeling about. Getting Sean Murphy in the offseason was an excellent decision. If Michael Harris can finally heat up, this team will be unbeatable.
Michael Harris is unfortunately resembling Jason Heyward’s development arc at the plate.
Bat’s too slow for the fastball.
Good glove, however.
Speaking of Heyward, does anybody know why the Dodgers have been batting him 3rd in the lineup??? That was sorta flabbergasting to see with his .203 BA and .234 SLG.
Thank you for your insight, LFG Braves!!
Except that’s not the top of their rotation cause 2 of them are hurt.
@LFGMets I actually have to disagree. with bullpen being an area of need. The Phillies bullpen is good. Their starting pitching has been abysmal. Their offense is seriously struggling as well, but Schwarber and Turner are two big reasons why, so I think you have to trust that they’ll get it going eventually.
Mets big issue is starting pitching, and it’s tough to guarantee that two pitchers on the wrong side of 30 will get it going, but I think they will.
Sad to hear. He has great lineage and I interact with his dad.
Awesome. He can’t hit. Say hi to his dad.
metzfan,
Luis G has a lifetime .264 BA .351 OBP he can hit last year he had 81 hits.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guilllu01.shtml
If the rest of the team were producing he wouldn’t be a problem, but I agree he should be replaced by Ronny Mauricio now. Vientos should be replacing Pham or Vogelbach. Roster is worse of a mess now.
Agreed. If the team was in a better state, he’s still be with the team. If he hit better, he’d be a starter. He has a role and does it well. For now, the Mets need to sacrifice some D for some O.
I was at the Mets/Rays game last night. Mets looked flat with the exception of a couple of HRs. Verlander was pitching batting practice and the Rays just teed off on him. Calling up Vientos will help but if the SP does not get going it won’t matter much. A lot of exciting young SP in the NL East unfortunately none of them in the blue and orange.
Mets roster is a real mess more so now as neither Vientos nor Vogelbach play adequate defensively. Vientos will supply some power but Luis G was not the correct move here as he was the only MI utility defender and although his batting average declined recently, he has been a very good contact hitter albeit without power. This should have been the offsetting move when Ronny Mauricio is promoted a move which needs to be made now. Not sold on Escobar or McNeil as a backup SS, Luis G plays SS.
Pham or Vogelbach need to go better yet both should be gone and don’t stop there.
Pham should have been gone yesterday. Adds very little to the team and it is maddening to see Buck have him penciled in at the cleanup spot in the lineup or used as a DH.
I know you like Vogelbach because he has a high OBP due to he looks to walk but the Mets already have Nimmo for that who leads off and plays CF.
Vogelbach as DH only hits RHP, can’t play a position ok for DH maybe, but can’t run. He is supposed to be a run producer and he neither scores nor drives in anybody and walking doesn’t do much when he clogs the bases once he reaches. Pham is horrible certainly not a middle of the order bat but he plays a substandard OF and can run a bit. Tossup to me they both need to go.
@Robrock30: Vogelbach is doing what he is asked: getting on base. imo, he should be down in the lineup, preferably 8th or 9th so he could be on base before Nimmo.
Also, Pham is batting fifth and DH-ing again tonight. Maddening. I don’t get it.
I can’t believe how stupid the Mets are playing Vientos at 3B batting 8th, DH Pham batting 5th and Escobar playing 2B hitting 2nd while sitting Baty and McNeil because a LHP. Makes no sense.
Why would you want Vogelbach in front of Nimmo clogging the bases when the Mets don’t hit HRs?
To get him on base. If he’s not going to hit for power, he needs to be down at the bottom of the order. It’s certainly not ideal. But ‘clogging the bases’ is not really a thing. Vogelbach can go first to third on a double. What clogging would he be doing? How many times does that come up as an issue? I’d rather have him on base in front of Nimmo than walking out of the fifth or sixth spot in the lineup.
Vientos is fine at 3B and 1B. He can DH. He’s up for his bat. Vogelwalk can sit too
Everything I heard was that he’s not great at 3B. worse at 1B, snd can’t play OF at all. Plus, the Mets are more than adequately covered at both positions.
So, DH it is for Vientos.
@Robrock30, you are 100% correct. Taking the IF glove guy off a roster is a strange move. One run games in late innings, who is taking Baty’s place in the field? Who takes SS if Lindor comes out of a game? Honestly, for all the ‘he doesn’t hit” naysayers, look at who the Dodgers and Braves play at SS.
Wampum,
I usually am regarding baseball especially.
Mets made the easy move here as Luis G has an option and can therefore be shuttled as needed, but the Mets didn’t go far enough as Ronnie Mauricio’s time has arrived and he is the replacement needed as he plays SS and is speedier and has power which Luis G doesn’t. The Mets don’t want to do the painful to them decision which is to cut Pham or Vogelbach ( pick either one I don’t care ) and let Vientos be the permanent DH.
Mauricio better play an adequate 2B, because he’ll only get a start at SS if Lindor is hurt or tired.
Even assuming they trade or DFA Vogelbach, how many DH’s do the Mets need?
They should consider moving the team to Connecticut. It’s clear they cannot handle the pressure of being a professional sports franchise in a major market.
Yes that would solve everything.
It’s a start
Trade deadline move: send Robertson to a contender that needs a closer for a bona fide good young pitching prospect. Braves are a good fit, or is that heresy?
It’s the right move as Mets are going nowhere this year, Robertson is on a one-year deal and Amazin’s get Diaz back next year. C’mon Eppler, impress me.
You would get a Single A lottery ticket for geriatric David Robertson. Not a future rotation option. Let’s try that one again.
About time.
This is not a surprising or strange move. Optioning Guillorme is a way to shake up the clubhouse without damaging too many egos/ relationships.
It’s basically the FO telling the fringe lineup guys to start producing. Teams do this type of stuff fairly often.
Don’t be surprised if you see Canha placed on the DL if his BA doesn’t touch .250 in the next 2 – 3 weeks.
Great Mets win tonight exciting ball game with HRs from Vientos, Alvarez, then the 3 run walkoff HR by Alonso. They needed the kids energy to turn the tide and it worked.
with Guillorme gone who’s gonna catch all those errant bats?