Alex Rubinson - Mets Defense has not Lived up to Offseason Plan

During the offseason, a lot of the talk was on how the New York Mets were going to fix its pitching staff. Even after the team acquired Freddy Peralta in a blockbuster deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, there were still questions on how the Mets would be able to keep their opponents off of the scoreboard. It is well-documented how expensive pitching can be. That is something that will never change whether it be in free agency or via the trade market. 

David Stearns was well aware of this and tried to get around it by adopting a strategy he had used going back to his days with the Brewers. He made it a point of emphasis to focus on run prevention, even at the expense of the team’s offensive output. Although signing infielders like Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette raised some highbrows, the team acquired Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo (despite Nimmo clearly being the better offensive player at this point in their respective careers). 

Stearns also traded for Luis Robert Jr. to patrol centerfield. Even the aforementioned Bichette wouldn’t have to play shortstop with Francisco Lindor in the fold. The plan definitely left Stearns and the front office open to criticism, but at the least the organization established a plan heading into the 2026 season. 

Fast forward two months into the season, and we can start having meaningful takeaways. The offense has been abysmal with some of the offseason additions not stepping up, but with Lindor and Francisco Alvarez on the shelf, the team has minimal options on who to turn to in the big moment. Although the offense is what will grab all of the headlines, the defense has left a lot to be desired. It doesn’t help that Robert Jr. and Lindor have missed significant time, but the team can’t even accomplish what it was designed to do. 

Coming into play on Wednesday, the team was in the lower third of the league in fielding run value at minus five. When looking at overall outs above average, the Mets are at negative eight. What’s puzzling is that the team struggles to come in on balls and go backwards. Only three teams are worse than the Mets when coming in on balls and a different set of three teams are the only ones that are worse when having to go backwards. 

It’s also noteworthy that the team is especially bad when facing left-handed hitters. The team once again ranks 27th in MLB in outs above average in that category at minus nine. Oddly enough, they are actually above average versus right-handers. 

The outfield specific metrics don’t look any better at negative three outs above average. This directly stems from the team being a minus three when they have to go back on batted balls. The only team worse when traveling backwards are the Miami Marlins. Of course going backwards is incredibly difficult. It’s why you see more outfielders playing deeper in today’s game, but the Mets stick out even compared to the rest of the league. 

Overall, the Mets have an 87% success rate in the outfield. That might not seem all that bad, but the three worst teams in that metric are at 85%. The infield is even worse. They are at negative six overall in outs above average with negative seven against lefties. The infield is pretty good at moving back on balls but really struggles at charging in. 

Looking back at the aforementioned trade that sent Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for Semien, it has gone even worse than imagined. The thinking behind the trade was that Nimmo was an aging player who already had to move off of centerfield. Although Semien was even worse offensively, his contract was shorter, and he had value defensively. The move has not gone to plan to say the least. Semien ranks outside the top 30 (remember, there are only 30 teams in MLB) in outs above average at second base. 

At minus three, only three second baseman are worse among qualifiers. Meanwhile, Nimmo has been an average defender with zero outs above average. Do you want to guess who is tied with Nimmo as an average defender? If you guessed Luis Robert Jr., you would be correct. Outs above average is a cumulative statistic, so Robert Jr. might be better if he wasn’t on the injured list, but his average defense does show that he wasn’t necessarily lighting it up in center when he was healthy. 

Ironically, Bo Bichette, the move that appeared to go against the Mets’ offseason philosophy, has actually worked out. Bichette is tied for the team lead among qualifiers with three outs above average. Meanwhile, Tyrone Taylor has been a below average defender. The Mets knew coming into the season that some of the players up and down their roster might be underwhelming offensively, but they figured they would help make up for it on the other side of the ball. 

At the very least, Luis Torrens has lived up to his end of the bargain. The former New York Yankee has a plus four fielding run value (91st percentile). The defensive mastermind has been fantastic at holding runners as well thanks to his 98th percentile pop time and 97 percentile caught stealing above average. 

Mets fans probably would like to see Torrens get better at blocking pitches. He is in the 55th percentile in blocking, which is still solid, but given the limited offensive production, you would like Torrens to be as close to perfect as possible on defense. 

The Mets have not played like a sound defensive team throughout the first third of the season. Not all metrics and statistics show the Mets as a bottom five defensive ballclub, but when run prevention was the priority all offseason and was what the entire organization preached during the winter, they should be held to a slightly higher standard, especially compared to what the team has put on display so far in 2026.