New York Mets

Should the Mets keep Lucas Duda?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Yes, they should.

With Major League Baseball’s non-tender deadline approaching, clubs from all over the league are weighing their options for the 2017 season. While the Mets have a couple of players that could be non-tendered at the last moment, odds are they keep their 40-man roster intact past the 8pm Friday mark. Nevertheless, a lot of Mets fans have been talking about one of those options, Lucas Duda, so let’s take a look at why the Amazin’s should keep him around.

The 30-year-old first baseman is one of the most polarizing players on the Mets squad. There are those of us that love Duda, and others that simply despise him for some reason. We can argue at length about why people hate him, but the stats he’s put up pre-2016 should speak for themselves.

Yes, he struggled last year. That’s not in question. His season started out badly, and since he only had 145 plate appearance in total, he never really got the chance to bounce back and improve his numbers. His line .231/.297/.431 in 2016 shouldn’t be completely forgotten, but it was a kind of a small sample size. Ultimately, Duda landed on the disabled list with back issues, and you could practically hear Mets fans that like him reasoning and hoping that was what caused his poor play up until that point.

Leading up to last season though, Duda’s presence in the lineup has been strong. While he’s never really been a high batting average guy, when he does hit the ball, it goes far, and that’s what should matter the most. In 2015, he slugged a line of .486 as he hit 27 home runs and 33 doubles. The previous season of 2014, his slugging percentage was similar at .481 while hitting 30 home runs and 27 doubles. Compare that to the surprisingly-beloved James Loney‘s SLG percentage from 2016 of .397, and you can see why the Mets brass would be smart to keep Duda around.

Lucas has also been able to get on base at a pretty good rate before last season. In 2014, and 2015, Duda’s OBP was .349 and .352, respectively. James Loney’s on-base percentage was .307 last season.

Since Duda’s talent shouldn’t be a question going into 2017, the real concern for him is logically health. Anytime a player suffers back issues, it’s going to be a worry. A first baseman bends over quite a lot over the span of 162 games, both fielding and receiving throws, so it’ll be something the Mets have to monitor closely. Of course, Duda was able to come back late last season and play a little with the big league team, so that should ease our minds a bit.

My prediction is Lucas Duda stays and we get to see him in orange and blue next season in Queens. He has a lot to prove, and with the likes of Dominic Smith making some noise in the minors, 2017 will be a big test for Duda not only in performance but durability.