The New York Mets have to feel good about how they have played over the final three months of the season. Entering today’s game with the Washington Nationals, the Mets are 40-35 since July 1st, giving them a solid foundation to work with if they plan to contend in 2019. The starting rotation has been excellent and there are some young core contributors in the lineup, but the Mets do need to make some tweaks to help improve the overall product. While the Mets should definitely be in pursuit of a new catcher, an area we covered recently, the question of how the Mets should handle center field is more in question.
The Mets began the year playing Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto in center field, with Juan Lagares getting starts against lefties, but that plan went out the window when Lagares went out for the season in May. The team’s philosophy changed later in the year, when the Mets added Austin Jackson to allow Nimmo and Conforto to play in the corners, where they are better fits defensively. Mets’ manager Mickey Callaway indicated that the team wants to focus more on defense going forward, which makes a ton of sense since the Mets are a team built on a strong starting rotation. The best defensive teams are strong up the middle, so having a capable fielder in center is a very good idea. The problem is that the Mets’ roster construction makes that choice have a ripple down effect on the rest of the lineup.
Before we get to that construction, let’s look at some external options the Mets could pursue. Barring an unlikely pursuit of Bryce Harper and deploying him in center, the top free agent fit for the Mets is Arizona Diamondbacks’ outfielder A.J. Pollock. Pollock has had a solid offensive year in the desert, batting .256 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI’s in 107 games this season. In terms of defense, Pollock has three outfield assists and has a 0.4 dWAR (defensive Wins Above Replacement), indicating that he is playing at a slightly above average level. Pollock will be 31 years old at the start of next season, so the Mets may be hesitant to hand out more than a four year commitment for a player who may need to move to an outfield corner in two years. Another player to watch could be former Met Carlos Gomez, who has hit .212 with nine home runs and 32 RBI’s for the Tampa Bay Rays this season. Gomez has played primarily right field for the Rays, but he has been an above average fielder this season, raising the possibility he could play center on a shorter term deal.
Bringing in a true center fielder in free agency would be great, but the problem is that the Mets are hampered by the presence of Jay Bruce on the roster. Bruce was signed last winter to give the Mets a proven bat in the outfield when they weren’t sure of Nimmo’s potential, and Nimmo has certainly proven he is worthy of an everyday role in 2019. Nimmo can play center field if needed, but he is better in a corner, which would force Bruce out of the outfield and over to first base. This is not a terrible idea in the short term, but Bruce still has two years left on his deal and would be blocking a path to the big leagues for prospects Peter Alonso and Dominic Smith.
If the Mets decide to leave Bruce in the outfield, they could try getting by with a platoon of Nimmo and Lagares in center field in 2019, which was the original plan at the beginning of this season. Nimmo has been only average against left handed pitching, batting .240 with three homers and nine RBI’s in 125 at bats against southpaws, so a true platoon with Lagares could make sense. The Mets are stuck paying Lagares $9.5 million in 2019 as he enters the final year of his contract, and they probably won’t be able to get much for an injury prone player making that much money, so a platoon makes the most sense for Lagares. Lagares has always been the Mets’ best defensive outfielder, and if the Mets are committed to improving their defense in 2019 he could very easily be a part of the solution.
Unlike catcher, where it is obvious that the Mets need to add a starter in free agency, center field could be filled internally if the Mets choose to do so. Given the fact that the Mets aren’t going to break the bank in free agency and need to address catcher, the bullpen, and infield depth an in house fix in center field could make the most financial sense. A Nimmo/Lagares platoon wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, but in order to justify that decision they need to put the money they save on a center fielder towards better acquisitions in other need areas. An offseason like last winter’s, where the Mets went bargain hunting instead of spending for more premium talent, is not acceptable.
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