Luis Guillorme opened eyes throughout the country with his 22-pitch walk, but the New York Mets have come to expect the spectacular out of him. His superb defense got him to the big leagues, but his bat has started to turn the corner over the last two seasons. Can Guillorme earn the job as the starting third baseman with the Mets in desperate need of defense?
Guillorme has put together a solid .333 average in 15 spring at-bats,, equal to his 2020 production. He has also brought stellar defense at second base, third base, and shortstop. The marathon at-bat was a microcosm of the type of player Guillorme has become. He will battle hard and brings an old-school approach of refusing to give in and take a strikeout.
The competition at third base is J.D. Davis, a polar opposite player. Davis will be an average defender at best but can put all-Star numbers with the bat. He still has the upper hand on third base, and the better he hits, the more his glove can be overlooked.
Guillorme has been underutilized for far too long and has earned more playing time for 2021. In 2020, he was slapping hits throughout the field but lost playing time once the Mets acquired Todd Frazier. The move served no purpose then and cost Guillorme more valuable playing time.
Manager Luis Rojas has not tipped his hand on a starter yet but the competition is closer than we think. The final decision all comes down to a preference between offense and defense. Even if Guillorme does not start at third base, he should still get into 110+ games due to his defensive ability.
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