Reese Kaplan -- Free Agents Who Could be a Mets DH in 2024

While the focus on pitching has been prevalent in roster construction dialogs during this early offseason, the fact is that the Mets need to bolster their offense as well.  

Going into 2024 they have Brandon Nimmo in center field, theoretically a rehabilitated Starling Marte in right field, Pete Alonso at first base, someone at second base, Francisco Lindor at shortstop, someone at third base and Francisco Alvarez behind the plate.  

If we presume for the moment that Jeff McNeil will take over the vacant left field position to make room for some combination of Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos somewhere in the infield, that would mean you're either giving the Baby Mets another chance or you're giving up on them very quickly.

Now regardless of who is hired as manager and general manager, the fact remains that there is not much truly open opportunity to improve the offense until you get the black hole known as the designated hitter.  Since its inception in the National League the Mets have truly suffered poor production there from any combination of Darin Ruf, Daniel Vogelbach and a slew of others you care to shudder upon remembering.  Consequently the need to improve run production most definitely means the DH position is the most likely place to start.  

Now it's not a given the Mets will indeed move in this direction.  If they start the season with Ronny Mauricio at 2B and Brett Baty at 3B, then the team might decide to let Mark Vientos have a go at the DH slot as he is more of hitter in his minor league career than he is a fielder.  Conventional wisdom is that you don't make rookie level players into designated hitters.  You instead choose veterans who are in the latter tier of their careers who you can reliably predict will deliver value on the dollar. 

Towards that end, let's consider a few DH possibilities for the Mets.  Now many are advocating a return of players like Tommy Pham who would be a good extra outfielder but for a pure DH with 30 HR power and 90+ RBI power, he doesn't really fit the bill.  Mets fans (and the front office) should also be tired of guys who struggle to hit .250.  Here are the contenders:

Adam Duvall

The first man on the list is a slugging outfielder/DH type who has struggled at times to get his batting average up a level of respectability.  He has thrice hit over 30 HRs and twice eclipsed the century mark in RBIs.  This past season while playing for the Red Sox he was in 92 games, homering 21 times and driving in 58.  Extrapolate that over a full season schedule and he's meeting the metrics you desire, though his .247 batting average is Vogelbachian.  Still, Daniel never hit 30 for the Mets.  As a now 35 year old right handed hitter, he earned $7 million in 2023.  He'll likely get that or a tad less now that he's a year older.

Teoscar Hernandez

The Seattle Mariners have benefitted from Hernandez' hitting for them this past year after spending most of his career north of the border with the Blue Jays.  He was paid $14 million in the land of Starbucks and for that he hit .258 with 26 HRs and 93 RBIs.  While putting up 2.1 WAR that was good value.  He's just turning 31 and will want a multiyear deal from someone and well north of that figure.  Let's be conservative for a moment and assume he'll look to hit the $20 million per year plateau for probably a minimum of 4 years.  That seems a lot of green for this level of production and he wouldn't be my first choice for a new DH.

Rhys Hoskins

Here is potentially one of the more interesting right handed bats on the list.  After tearing his ACL and missing all of 2023, he's hitting free agency from Philadelphia with a blank next to his name for recent run production.  Go back to his pre-injury numbers and you immediately notice he was putting up some very good long ball and RBI numbers, but like Duvall he's not threatening to win a batting crown anytime soon.  He averages per 162 games 36 HRs and 98 RBIs.  Of course, that production goes along with a .242 average.  

What makes Hoskins a fascinating roll of the dice is that he's got nothing on his resume for this past year where he was paid $12 million.  He's just turning 30 this upcoming season but until he proves he's healthy he's not likely to get a high dollar long term contract.  Consequently he might take a one-year "prove it" deal to establish his value and then look to cash in next year after doing so. 

J.D. Martinez

Arguably the best bargain in baseball in 2023 was the output the Los Angeles Dodgers got for their one-year $10 million deal with slugger Martinez.  He clubbed 33 HRs and drove in over 100 while hitting a highly respectable .271.  Turning 36 for the 2024 season he's not likely to get either a long term deal nor a big bump in pay.  

For the sake of argument suppose he commands a $14 million contract for a single year.  He would provide an excellent bridge to the next wave of Baby Mets and is a career .287 hitter.  From a performance standpoint he's likely the most solid bet on the board and doesn't want to play the field. 

Joc Pederson

Finally there's another ex-Dodger although most recently an ex-Giant in Joc Pederson.  His power is solid but his performance has been a bit up and down during his career.  He's only a .237 career hitter and has eclipsed the 30 HR mark just once.  His high water mark in RBIs is just 76.  While he's done a nice job cutting down on strikeouts as he's become more mature, you have to wonder if he's any better than Daniel Vogelbach in terms of production.  

Unlike Vogelback earning under $2 million, Pederson can play the field but commands a most recent salary of nearly $20 million.  He'll not get anywhere near that number on a deal right now but how much less he's willing to take measured against his output suggests he's not a good DH choice.  

Of course, it's totally possible for the Mets to put together a trade for a solid hitter to insert as their new DH just as it's economically viable (though risky) to bank on full time DH duty from Mark Vientos.  For now, however, these DH choices are the cream of the current crop and of them J.D. Martinez is seemingly the most obvious choice.  

Hoskins is probably in the $8 million or so range on a short term deal but you'd have to think with more seasoning Vientos should be able to provide similar numbers.  As far as I'm concerned if these five choices plus Vientos are it, then I'm on the Martinez bandwagon.