Alex Rubinson - How Mets Outfield Depth went from a Thin Weakness to a Strength

The New York Mets came into the 2025 season having made the season’s biggest offseason splash, inking superstar outfielder Juan Soto a record $765 million contract. After a slow start, Soto enjoyed an impressive campaign that saw him finish third in the National League MVP voting. The big acquisition was not the reason New York failed to qualify for the postseason, but it showed that Soto was not able to make up for lackluster outfield production as a whole. When November rolled around, it was clear that the outfield needed to be revamped if David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza did not want 2026 to mimic the previous year. 

Jose Siri was a key addition in 2025 but managed to play in just 16 games and struggled mightily. He batted well under .100 with an OPS+ of -15. Remember, a league average OPS+ is 100 and not zero. Brandon Nimmo saw an uptick in his power numbers with a career-best 25 dingers but put up a career-worst .324 on-base percentage. Across 2024 and 2025, Nimmo averaged an OPS+ of 110. Although this is a solid output, it was a notable fall off from when he averaged just under an OPS+ of 130 between 2021-2023. This also included Nimmo moving off of centerfield. Tyrone Taylor might be a solid major leaguer and can help impact the game in multiple ways, but with a slash line of .223/.279/.319, he proved that he’s more of a depth fourth outfielder than someone that the manager can pencil into the daily lineup. The Mets tried to temporarily fix some of these when the organization acquired Cedric Mullins at the trade deadline, but that only made matters worse. 

Fast forward to 2026 spring training with the Mets set to open their regular season two weeks from today, the outfield appears to be in much healthier shape. Soto will shift from right to left field where he statistically is more comfortable. The team also acquired Luis Robert Jr. and are getting ready to welcome top prospect Carson Benge into the fold. Robert Jr. has struggled with inconsistencies and it would be unfair to count on Benge as a rookie to be firing on all cylinders as a rookie, but the organization should be much more confident in its plan as the snow across New York has finally melted. 

Carson Benge has been one of the team’s most excited young prospects after a breakout 2025 campaign across three minor league levels. So far during the spring, the top outfield prospect is 9/23 with only four strikeouts. He’s also recorded nearly a dozen total bases over that stretch. Maybe one would like to see the youngster walk at a higher rate (he has only drawn one free pass), but in 2025, his OBP was over 100 points higher than his batting average. Benge has proved that the big leagues are not too big of a step and is poised to break camp as the organization’s starting right fielder. 

Where Mets can breathe a sign of relief is the players lining up behind Benge. The Mets came into camp prepared to give Benge every opportunity to seize the opening day starting spot, but they have to be pleased with how their contingency plans have also fared. Less than a month ago, Stearns brought in veteran Mike Tauchman on a no-risk minor league contract. Tauchman has taken advantage of the opportunity, going 4/13 while reaching base in half of his plate appearances. This is obviously a very small sample size, but Tauchman has done everything he can to earn a roster spot. Since returning from Korea in 2023, Tauchman has recorded an OPS+ north of 100 in each of his three seasons. He probably won’t ever be the player he was in 2019 with the crosstown Yankees (128 OPS+ and a near 4-win player), but he was just short of being a two-win player last year and a three-win contributor in 2023. Nothing about the journeyman will blow anyone away, but he has had stretches when he showed he can be a stopgap option or at least a quality depth piece for a team. 

One of the biggest surprises for the Mets over the last couple of months has been the emergence of Cristian Pache. Pache is a former top prospect with the Atlanta Braves but has not figured it out during his tenure with multiple franchises. We should know by now that development is not always linear. At this point in his career, it’s highly unlikely Pache will ever live up to the player he was predicted to become, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a useful player at the big league level. Pache has gone 9/19. In 2024, the outfielder was in the 80th percentile in sprint speed and 92nd percentile in arm strength. He recorded four outs above average as a whole during that campaign. Pache appears to be stuck in a logjam, so it’s likely he will start the season in Syracuse, but the Mets should be encouraged from what he has shown. When an injury inevitably occurs, Pache could be one of the first guys called up and can be a valuable asset off of the bench. 

Finally, the team brought in MJ Melendez in the winter. The former Kansas City Royal has been with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, but Melendez was swinging a hot bat before he left for the tournament. The utility man was 4/11 with a couple of bombs. Melendez has been moved to the outfield after initially being developed as a catcher, but he has also shown he can play a little first base during his limited playing time with Puerto Rico. Melendez has very limited playing time in the tournament, so he might need to get back in the swing of things when he rejoins the Mets next week. If his brief spring stint is more than just a mirage, he will add a lot to a Mets team with his ability to also fill in at multiple positions in a pinch. 

None of these three players are almost certainly going to get a lot of playing time for New York. They won’t be the reasons the Mets win a lot of games, but when you add these three players into the fold to go along with Tyrone Taylor, Mendoza and company are in a better situation than they were a season ago. They have more options off the bench, who have shown throughout the spring that there is still good baseball left in the tank and might even be able to catch fire for a short time period if they are given the opportunity.