Why I want Matt Den Dekker as the Mets’ Opening Day CF

Let’s say the Reds called up the Mets and offered Drew Stubbs straight up for Lucas Duda – should the Mets make that deal? Stubbs had a poor year last year but he’s a center fielder who plays pretty good defense and who can hit the ball over the fence. While he strikes out an alarming number of times, his overall contributions as a ballplayer still have some value. Last year he posted a 1.3 fWAR, compared to the (-1.1) fWAR that Duda notched in about 100 fewer PA. Duda is likely a better hitter than he showed last year but it seems pretty clear that he will never be a truly valuable player as long as he is forced to be an outfielder, which seems to be his destiny on the Mets. Throw in the fact that Stubbs is a righty hitter to balance the lineup and that he is likely to not make a great deal of money in his first year of arbitration and it probably becomes a no-brainer for Sandy Alderson to make this deal. With Joey Votto entrenched at first base, the odds of Cincinnati offer...