51s’ Gavin Cecchini might be New York Mets’ next second baseman of future

And while they could opt to re-sign Neil Walker, go after another free agent or go the trade route, an internal option somewhere down the line could potentially be shortstop Gavin Cecchini.

Saturday, for the second time, Cecchini was out working on turning double plays at second.

The plan right now is to send him to the Arizona Fall League where he can continue to work on the position.

Manager Wally Backman said Cecchini would likely play a few days a week at short with one day at second to get accustomed to it.

“I think he’s receptive to it because we’re trying to increase his value and he understands after I talked to him about the need,” Backman said. “We don’t have Dilson Herrera anymore. He was the future, so in reality that position’s wide open unless the Mets go out and sign a free agent or can re-sign or whatever, but Walker’s not going to be there forever.”

It’s a move Backman himself made during his playing career and one he said should be an easy one.

At short, Cecchini has made a team-high 33 errors this season, but a shorter throw should help cut down on that.

“It’s an easier throw, it’s an easier position to play than shortstop but it’s the harder position to play to turn a double play compared to shortstop,” Backman said.

Cecchini has played second a little bit in his past, including for a year and a half in high school, but has primarily been a shortstop.

“It just gives me another thing that I could use down the road so I’m not just waiting on one thing as far as you never want to wish injuries upon anyone or anything, you always want the best for everyone but right now I’ve only played shortstop so it’s pretty much ‘Hey, something has to happen for me to go up,’ so being able to play a little bit of second and maybe even a little bit of third, something happens, they need a need, it’ll be good so I can be able to say ‘Hey, I can play all three,’” Cecchini said. “It’s just kind of speeding up the process for me of achieving my dream of getting up to the big leagues.”

Batting title update

The hunt for the Pacific Coast League batting title will come down to T.J. Rivera and Brandon Nimmo and will likely be decided in the next few days.

Currently, Rivera leads at .347 to Nimmo’s .346.

Rivera is with the Mets right now and likely not coming back when rosters expand, while Nimmo will likely leave then.

“Brandon being here, T.J. not coming back probably, has got to hit .350 to win it the rest of the way,” Backman said. “I’m not going to say there’s pressure on him because he’s had a great year anyways but it’s still a little feather in your cap to win your batting title and I know that he knows its there and he wants to win it and I hope he does.”

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand