Reese Kaplan -- Is Anyone Available to Play the Mets Outfield?

Word has filtered out that Luis Robert’s health may indeed require assignment to the IL to recover which would put the already weak NY Mets offense even worse than it is now.  To be fair, missing out on a .224 hitter shouldn’t necessarily cause anyone heartache, but .224 would be one of the top ten hitters on the Mets’ current “Noffense.”

Given the current state of the outfield it’s pretty pathetic.  Yes, Juan Soto is back though with some forearm soreness which is keeping him at the DH role instead of playing the outfield.  Then you have the likes of MJ Melendez who didn’t make the major league team out of Spring Training, Brett Baty reminding people why he’s no longer a starter, Tyrone Taylor whose defense does not make up for his lack of hitting skills, latest scrap heap pick Austin Slater and suddenly improving Carson Benge. 

Yes, the Mets need help out there.  The in-house options are not all that promising.  The club has one minor league outfielder available for a promotion in speedster Nick Morabito who at a .262 AAA average does not exactly scream, “Promote me now!”  Cristian Pache is hitting .307 but isn’t on the 40 man roster.  The same goes for .314 hitting Ji Hwan Bae. 

Consequently it is indeed reasonable to assume the front office should be looking outside the Mets outfield inventory but for options better than Slater.  One who may or may not merit consideration is outfielder/designated hitter/first baseman Eloy Jimenez who was just put on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays while hitting .290 thus far for the 2026 season.  Yes, in the past he’s been a Rookie of the Year and a Silver Slugger winner with as many as 31 HRs in a season but has never quite put that level of productivity together again.  At age 29 what you see now is likely what you get but at the same time he’d provide more output than the likes of Slater, Melendez and Taylor.  Unfortunately at 6’4” and 250 pounds he’s not built like a stellar defensive player and the club likely will wait for the DFA period to expire before tagging themselves with his current salary by suddenly making him a Met.

Given the paucity of offensive options it is long overdue for the currently playing at a .345 winning percentage Mets, currently tied with the now Don Mattingly led Philadelphia Phillies for the worst record in the league.  It would seem that while a great many players are not performing to their expected capabilities that the guy who chose them is doing even worse.  In fact, since 2025 ended the only player not embarrassing the front office is the now injured .350 hitting Jared Young.  The rest of the newcomers who allegedly swing bats for a living are, well, not exactly threatening to win tin slugger awards, let alone silver ones.  

It would seem that even more pressing than the need to replace the manager or the POBO is the need to bring some real offensive power to the Mets.  Buying low isn’t working.  Buying high thus far isn’t working.  Giving up isn’t working.  Something’s got to give.