Where in the World is Reese Havens?

With the loss of Daniel Murphy, arguably one of the Mets’ most consistent hitters and strongest power threats on the team, for the season presumably, and with Jose Reyes projected to be out two-three weeks with a hamstring tweak AGAIN just shortly after getting off the DL with another similar injury, surely most Mets fans are banging their heads against the wall. 

This was after, of course, we find out that there is a long shot Ike Davis returns this season, and another setback in the recovery of Johan Santana. 

So Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

I’d like to get out up front that I have decided this season that I will not be one of those folks who beats the “woe is us” drum when it comes to Mets injuries.  Of course, it hits close to home with those of us who watch the team as a religion, but then again, injuries are simply a part of the sport.

That’s not to say I am discounting the fact that there are many Mets hurt these days, key players who have contributed on almost a daily basis.  There are two things of which this chain of events has made me think.

One is – the lack of depth in the organization.

The other is – wherein the world is Reese Havens?

The lack of depth is nothing new.  The depth thing has been overexposed in the last two seasons, with the lack of replacement level players when key players go down.  Carlos Beltran was out for long spells of time in 2009 and 2010, and Jose Reyes missed most of 2009 and was not fully himself in all of 2010 (thyroid condition reported).  Yet, there was no replacement-level player able to take over in those instances. 

Angel Pagan was a close substitute for Carlos Beltran, but had nowhere near the power of Beltran (nor the defense, but then again, not many players do). 

Do I really need to insult the masses’ intelligence by bringing up Alex Cora, who replaced Reyes at shortstop in those time periods as well, or Ruben Tejada who wasn’t exactly “ready” for prime time either?

The point is, the lack of depth in the organization has provided the gasoline for the proverbial fires in panic moves for the team, as well as shortsightedness in the long-term outlook. 

At the beginning of this season, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez were released from the team, being a typical addition-by-subtraction move but taking away $18 million that the Mets could have used in adding to the depth in the system. So although those two would not be theoretically helping the team, the money tied up with them wasn’t doing much either, thus eliminating any chances of putting that money to good use. 

Likewise, in the development of the team, Daniel Murphy was a kid that a lot of fans could root for, but he had no position to play.  Being that he was a natural third baseman (a position that is locked-up for the long-term for some dude named David Wright), he was a hitter without a position.  Since someone like Havens was consistently injured, and there were no other viable options at second base (and the idea of defense trumping offense was put to rest once Castillo was released), Murphy had to take one for the team.  Unfortunately, this is how he ended up getting hurt, but taking one for the team. 

Then I started to think about “ceilings,” and prospects, and all things in between, and it just reminds me of how Havens was once projected.  He was seen as having a higher upside than Ike Davis when they were both in the NY Penn League low-A ball team, the Brooklyn Cyclones.  Yet there were two things holding him back from rising through the Mets ranks unlike his counterpart in Davis. 

One was that his natural position was short stop and with Jose Reyes being locked in for awhile, it may have taken a long time for Havens to make it to the big league club (or otherwise, traded at some point).  When he started taking his lumps at second base, it was widely agreed that the easiest route to the club in Flushing is second base.  

The other was his propensity for injuries.  Havens has been hit with the injury bug pretty much every year since he was drafted, and this year was no exception.  Havens did not make the team’s 40-man roster, and is now playing in Double-A Binghamton for the Mets system. 

Injuries are a part of the game.  Yet, even the players in the Mets’ minor system are feeling the brunt of it.  It’s a double-edged sword in Havens’ case.  There have been lots of opportunities for him to contribute on the major league level, due to the DL turnover on the big club, but he’s been so hurt himself, the front office needs to decide next year if they believe he’s capable of contributing in the future.

These two cross-methods of thinking led me to this path, of thinking about the future (short-term and long-term) as well as what could have been.  As Fred Wilpon likes to suggest, the Mets may be snakebitten, but I like to believe it’s just a bit of bad luck that only showcases the lack of depth in the organization.  Reese Havens is the very definition of those two worlds colliding: a high-ceiling uber-talented player who cannot contribute to the team when players go down with injuries because he himself is hit with injuries constantly. 

Someone like Reese Havens in the minors only proves that when something destructive happens to the big Mets club (when two of their star players go down and there’s barely a warm body to fill in their place), the front office needs to rethink and address their building up of the system in order to make a more seamless transition when injuries occur.