Despite the presence of Jeff McNeil, Todd Frazier got another start against a right-hander on Tuesday even though he has put up dreadful numbers versus righties.
Mickey Callaway pointed to putting more importance on infield defense with Marcus Stroman on the mound.
“Really, it’s ground balls,’’ the manager said before the Mets lost to the Cubs, 5-2, at Citi Field. “We’re hoping Stroman has a great day keeping the ball down and gets a lot of ground balls. We decided infield defense over outfield.”
And that meant McNeil was in right field, Michael Conforto in center — and the surging Juan Lagares on the bench.