I am very glad we brought him back. He's the ideal 4th guy on our bench right now (after Cora, Matthews, and Catcher) because he gives us the flexibility to do whatever we want with the 5th spot on the bench (platoon someone, get a pinch hitter, etc.)
Howard Megdal (who I just happen to agree with on almost every issue... it's infuriating) already wrote up an entry on Tatis as the Mets appear on the verge of bringing him back for 2010.
Tatis is an extremely useful player. As a bench player, a hitter who posts back-to-back seasons with OPS+ of 123 and 105 is a useful addition, regardless of position. That Tatis has held his own defensively at 1B, 2B, 3B, LF and RF makes the signing that much better.He even floats the idea of Fernando Tatis supplanting Luis Castillo as the starting second baseman. It's so far out of the box, even I didn't know whether he was being serious. I love it. And here in hypothetical land, it sounds awesome.
...on days when Murphy plays 1B, Tatis is free to play 2B, give David Wright a rest at 3B, or even spot Jason Bay or Jeff Francoeur, and you have a player worth signing.
Just for fun: in 2008-2009, Tatis has an OPS+ of 113. Jeff Francoeur, over that same span, has an OPS+ of 83.
Last note on Tatis. We all know he can hit decently well - but do people realize just how good his defense has been? Here are his UZR/150's for each of the major positions he can be expected to see time at this season:
First Base: +3.7
Third Base: -8.7
Left Field: +4.0
Right Field: -0.8
He has scuffled at third base, but everywhere else he has been average OR BETTER. This is phenomenal for a guy who is 1) a good hitter, 2) willing to accept a non-starting role and 3) has such versatility and doesn't play every day to hone his skill at one position.
Truly great. Now, let's see how the Mets use their newfound freedom and what they decide to do with the last bench spot.
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