The first half of the Subway Series ended yesterday with the Mets taking a mini sweep of the Yanks. The Yankees failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position and the Mets outright looked like the better team.
It’s always fun to watch the rivalry between two teams who only meet four times a year. Same city, with two different fanbases who will defend their team until the end.
I like to imagine if the Yankees and Mets were boiled down into one team, what that team would look like. All bias aside, there are a lot of good pieces from both teams. Assuming everyone is healthy, below is my combined team between the Yankees and Mets:
Catcher: Jose Trevino
Not a tough decision here. Trevino was an all-star this year and is 1st in baseball in framing pitches. Mets might have a case if they called up baseball’s top prospect in Francisco Alvarez but for right now it’s Trevino in a landslide over McCann or Nido.
First Base: Pete Alonso
Another easy one here. As much as I love Rizzo as a Yankee fan, Alonso leads the MLB in RBI’s and is an all-around great hitter. The team would be taking a significant hit defensively with Alonso instead of Rizzo but you can’t ignore just how great Alonso has been at the plate this season.
Second Base: Jeff McNeil
One of the best pure hitters in baseball. Every team should want a Jeff McNeil on their team. He always seems like he’s making hard contact and is always making the other pitcher work. He can play multiple positions although 2nd base is his strongest.
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor
Besides catcher, the weakest position on the team goes to SS. I debated sliding Gleyber here instead, but I’ll give the advantage to Lindor (barely). Lindor is above average in the field and has good power numbers, but his average is too low for my liking. He has produced a lot of RBI’s this year which could be the result of him being a clutch player. A toss-up pick that I will give to Lindor.
3rd Base: DJ LeMahieu
Another Jeff McNeil type. Two of the purest, best hitters in baseball would make a lethal combination at any part of the lineup. I can only imagine the frustration opposing pitchers would have trying to pitch to these guys back-to-back.
Left Field: Andrew Benintendi
The newly acquired Yankee would be another great fit. He is a high average, high contact, high on-base percentage player who plays a great Left Field. He fits in with all 30 teams in baseball and he would certainly fit into this one.
Center Field: Aaron Judge
Obviously. A top 5 player in the world. He is the heart and soul of the Yankees and would be the leader of this team as well. One thing Mets and Yankee fans should hopefully be able to agree on, is how good Aaron Judge is.
Right Field: Starling Marte
The ability for this team to get players on base and just keep the line moving would be a sight to see. Marte is another player that hits for high average and can get on base with the best of them. He is great in right field and could even steal bases at times.
DH: Giancarlo Stanton
Not many options here other than Torres, Canha or the mammoth that is Vogelbach. Stanton was an all-star and still hits the ball harder than anyone ever has. Another easy choice.
Bench:
Kyle Higashioka
Gleyber Torres
Brandon Nimmo
I don’t love taking Higashioka but between the options of Higashioka, McCann and Nido, I’ll take the best defensive catcher as the backup. The other two choices were easy. Gleyber is the best infielder not in the starting lineup and Nimmo is the best outfielder.
Potential Lineup:
- Starling Marte (RF)
- Andrew Benintendi (LF)
- Aaron Judge (CF)
- Pete Alonso (1B)
- Giancarlo Stanton (DH)
- Francisco Lindor (SS)
- DJ LeMahieu (3B)
- Jeff McNeil (2B)
- Jose Trevino (C)
People are going to be mad either way about the lineup, but it’s stacked from top to bottom. Marte and Benintendi are having better years than DJ and McNeil so they are 1-2 but you can have a thousand combinations for this great of a lineup.
Pitching Rotation:
- Jacob DeGrom
2. Max Scherzer
3. Gerrit Cole
4. Nestor Cortes
5. Chris Bassitt
I think this is an easy decision. Assuming everyone is healthy, DeGrom is the greatest pitcher to ever walk this earth. Max Scherzer looks as dominant as ever at 38 years old. As much as Mets fans think he stinks, Gerrit Cole is still an ace, and having him as a number three is just silly. Nestor Cortes has been absolutely lights out this year and it’s nice to have a lefty in the rotation. Lastly, Bassitt is such an underrated pitcher, and fills out this rotation nicely.
Bullpen:
RP: Taijuan Walker
RP: Jonathan Loaisiga
RP: Miguel Castro
RP: Wandy Peralta
RP: Adam Ottavino
RP: Michael King
Set up man: Clay Holmes
Closer: Edwin Diaz
To start with the bullpen, you need a long reliever so the next best starter not in the rotation is Walker. After that, it all depends on health. If everyone is healthy, like I said they were in this hypothetical, Michael King and Miguel Castro are no brainers. Wandy has been pretty good this year for the Yankees as has Ottavino for the Mets. The last spot I gave to Loaisiga because he has the most potential out of any other reliever. The best part of this bullpen is that you have the two best relievers in baseball for the 8th and 9th inning. Clay Holmes has been virtually unhittable, and Edwin Diaz is on another level, striking out more than half the batters he’s faced.
Both Mets and Yankee fans have extreme bias towards their team and players, but this combined team has a good combination of both teams. There are a few positions that could be argued but I think this is the best team that these two franchises could combine into. If this exact team was assembled, they would break the 116 team win record for the regular season, and probably sweep their way through the postseason.
Cam's Corner 