Former Tennessee Vols star is the answer to the New York Mets’ biggest problem, and he could erase David Stearns’ biggest mistake
A former Tennessee Vols baseball standout could be the answer to the New York Mets’ biggest problem. The Mets are off to a disastrous start this season despite their massive payroll.
The New York Mets, armed with one of the highest payrolls in professional sports, were supposed to be World Series contenders this season.
Instead, the Mets have been one of the worst teams in MLB over the first month of the season.
Injuries to players like shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Luis Robert Jr, and infielder Jorge Polanco have exposed the team’s lack of depth.
And a 12-game losing streak in April exposed the Mets’ shocking lack of chemistry. Which maybe shouldn’t be all that shocking since President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, the franchise’s de facto general manager, broke up the core of the roster over the offseason.
Stearns made moves that look good on paper, but he forgot that the composition of the clubhouse — the vibes, essentially — are the engine that drives a team toward a championship. Games aren’t won on spreadsheets in the big leagues, they’re won by a group of players who are a cohesive unit with elite chemistry.
The Mets, at least for now, lack that chemistry. Which, again, isn’t a surprise considering the roster was turned upside down over the offseason.
I mean, when you get rid of numerous longtime team leaders — Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, Starling Marte (an underrated team leader) — it shouldn’t be a surprise when the new roster appears directionless and leaderless over the first month of the season.
The result is a team playing with no confidence and no energy. It’s a group of players who are playing for results, instead of just playing free and competing and seeing what happens.
A former Tennessee Vols star could be the answer for the Mets
One of the Mets’ biggest problems is that they don’t have a big league first baseman on the roster.
After putting up no fight to keep Alonso, Stearns — who preached “run prevention” all offseason before building a roster full of players playing out of position — signed Polanco this offseason to be the Mets’ first baseman.
Polanco, though, had no previous experience at first base. He’s also been on the injured list for the last few weeks, so he’s only played two games at first base this season.
The other options are infielders Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, who have looked rough at times at first base this season (especially Vientos, who doesn’t have the range to be a big league infielder).
New York has Ryan Clifford in the minors as a first base option, but he’s only hitting .220 with a .727 OPS in AAA. He has MLB potential, but I don’t think he’s what the Mets need right now.
What the Mets need right now is to acquire former Tennessee Vols infielder Andrew Fischer from the Milwaukee Brewers.
Fischer, who can play third base or first base, is exactly the bat and the energy the Mets need right now.
The former Vol has been on fire in high A lately, ending April with four home runs in four games.
Fischer, who turns 22 later this month, still has a lot to prove as he’s yet to play in Double A or Triple A, but I think he’s a prospect who could move quickly through any system. I believe he’s a gamer who thrives under the bright lights. We saw that in the NCAA Tournament last season when he came through with a huge home run in Tennessee’s win over Wake Forest in the Knoxville Regional.
THAT is the kind of energy the Mets are missing in Flushing. They need players with a competitive fire that can’t be extinguished no matter what adversity they face. That’s what Fischer can provide. And he’d almost certainly be better defensively at first base than Vientos.
Expecting Fischer to be a hero, of course, wouldn’t be fair (he needs to cut down on the strikeout rate, something that’s true of most hitters these days). But I think he can produce at the big league level while providing the vibes that New York badly needs right now.
(By the way, Fischer hit a 112.4 MPH ground-rule double off San Diego Padres superstar closer Mason Miller in spring training, which was the hardest hit ball against Miller since May 7, 2023).
Maybe the Mets could even pair acquiring Fischer with calling up the versatile AJ Ewing from Syracuse. The Mets aren’t playing the game with a youthful exuberance, so they might as well call up some players who will (career journeymen Austin Slater and Andy Ibáñez are currently holding down roster spots for the Mets, so there’s room for moves to be made).
The problem here is that acquiring Fischer wouldn’t be easy. I don’t know what a trade package would look like — that would be on Stearns to figure out — but I would imagine packaging Baty and/or Vientos along with a high-level prospect would be a starting offer (I’d be fine with including RHP Jonah Tong — I believe in Fischer that much — but I know many fans wouldn’t be on board with that, and I get it).
Fischer, for what it’s worth, grew up in New Jersey rooting for the Yankees, so he understands baseball in The Big Apple.
The Mets clearly need a spark. And since they aren’t going to fire manager Carlos Mendoza, then the spark is going to need to come from the trade market.
Going all-in on an infielder who is one year removed from college and has only played 40 minor league games would be a bold move. But when you’re a franchise with World Series expectations and an 11-22 record while sitting 12.5 games out of first place in early May, it’s time to start considering some very bold moves.