New York Mets: imagine these players with these tools and traits!

Sep 28, 2019; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Atlanta Braves during the third inning at Citi Field. The home run was his 53rd of the season breaking the rookie record for home runs in a single season. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Christmas may be over now, but what about some late-season holiday gifts? Kidding aside, these New York Mets’ players could benefit from these outside-the-box tools.

It’s easy to imagine what kind of player Billy Hamilton would be with a hit tool, or JD Martinez with 60-grade defense. Giving some power to, say, Jarrod Dyson would make him an annual 30-30 threat. Add at least average fielding and proper arm accuracy to Miguel Andujar and there would be no trade rumors. You get the point by now.

Here are the tools that would benefit New York Mets’ players the most:

Speed for Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso is actually not that slow: according to Baseball Savant, he was in the 41st percentile in sprint speed. However, imagine him with 55 or 60-grade wheels… wow! He could be a perennial 40-30 threat, which would be extremely fun. He probably wouldn’t be a first baseman, either.

Hit tool for Luis Guillorme

Luis Guillorme has a very good chance of being the Mets’ backup middle infielder. He can defend second base and shortstop, but doesn’t pose much of a threat offensively. If he could have, say, a 50 hit tool, he would probably be a regular and maybe push Amed Rosario.

Edwin Diaz’s lost command and confidence

Diaz was the best reliever of 2018. The New York Mets traded for him prior to the 2019 season, but his year was a disaster. He tended to lose command of his fastball and breaking stuff, he lost confidence, and he allowed homers at an alarming rate (26.8 HR/FB.) The loss of command resulted in a significant spike in BB/9 from 2018 to 2019 (2.09 to 3.41) and a career-high HR/9 (2.33.)

Get defensive!

Defense for J.D.Davis

This is a fun one. Imagining J.D. Davis with at least average defense would drive up his WAR in a hurry. He had 2.4 in 453 plate appearances, but most of it was because of his 18.7 offensive runs above average. With the glove, he was atrocious: he had -9.0 defensive runs above average. He was passable at first, but was very bad in third base and in the outfield for the Mets. Some semblance of defense and Davis would be among the league’s very best players.

Defense for Dominic Smith

A masher in the J.D. Davis mold, Smith is also great with the bat and not-so-good with the glove. He connected 11 home runs in 197 plate appearances, with a 133 wRC+, yet he had 4.8 defensive runs below average according to Fangraphs. To be fair, he is a first baseman that the Mets tried in the outfield, and he fared well at the former (6.7 UZR/150, 0.9 UZR, 1 DRS) but was atrocious in the latter (-22.6 UZR/150, -3.6 UZR, -3 DRS.) If he learns how to man the outfield (or if he gets traded) he could have a path to regular playing time.