Waste for the Mets, and this actually has the potential to create issues down the line. Under the AFL eligibility rules (at
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/about/?league=119&id=player_elig) each team can only send one player below AA, which I would assume Tebow applies for. You mean to tell me this isn't a spot that would be better used for a guy like Wuilmer Becerra, Desmond Lindsay, or Eudor Garcia?
Define "better."
In terms of baseball, and player development - sure, you may have a point.
In terms of ticket sales, and fan interest - there's no way that Becerra, Lindsay, or Garcia are "better" options.
I try pretty hard to ignore this thread. It is, and always will be, a sideshow and completely irrelevant to actual baseball. But ... people just can't help themselves. Whether it is to mock what happens on the field or to inaccurately define something as "better" - this is a flame, and some of y'all cannot help yourselves by flying into it.
Indeed, this whole thing is a shameless cash grab by both player and club. Yes, this blatant sideshow is barely worth comment. Yet, here we are on Page 4 and post #170 on something everyone agrees is both pointless, shameless, and despicable.
It is also true, and worth noting, that "clickbait bullshit" about Tebow makes it rain no matter what the venue. People - yes, even us, the discerning and "smart" fans - can't get enough of this story. The proof is that unlike actual baseball stories and actual baseball players, this shit keeps getting clicked on, and commented upon. At a certain point, that's on us - right? If we truly found it so abhorrent, we'd be able to ignore it or at least let the obvious aspects go uncommented upon.
The Mets deserve credit for making a whole bunch of people who were unaware the Arizona Fall League existed suddenly interested in not only their entry, but also in their prospects in general. FWIW, I'm sure that Becerra, Lindsay, and/or Garcia will get the chance to play Winter League ball – and that no one will care when they do. And I'll further guarantee that hit, strikeout, or rainout - people will talk more about Tebow in the AFL than they would if he weren't there.
So... better? Yeah, I think the Mets are better off with Tebow, for a bunch of reasons.