After signing Jay Bruce, the Mets have managed to assemble a strong outfield offense between him, Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto.

The defense is another story, however. Bruce’s reunion with the Mets means that Juan Lagares will no longer be able to play center field every day in 2018 if everyone were to remain healthy.

As a result, Michael Conforto is expected to handle everyday duties in center field over the next three seasons as Bruce will be manning right field during that time.

Now, as much as we all know the Mets are not going to sit Conforto if he is bad at the position regularly, it is worth finding out whether or not he is equipped to handle the position over the course of the season.

In his career, Conforto has amassed 367.2 innings at the position between the 2016 and 2017. Over that time, he has graded out at -3 defensive runs saved.

However, he had -4 DRS in 328.2 innings in 2017, which if carried out over the course of a full season would likely leave him at around -12 at the position. Of course, that is just a projection.

That would put him ahead of Dexter Fowler (-18) and Andrew McCutchen (-16) and tie him with Adam Jones.

While being better than the lowest common denominator at the position defensively is not something to necessarily be proud of, it is worth noting.

The reason it’s worth mentioning is that while some might think the Mets are the only team that is trying to bulk up on offense in the outfield, despite defensive concerns, they are not.

Before continuing, Conforto also had 19 outside of zone plays, a .873 revised zone rating, 1.3 UZR, and had a 2.5 outfield arm above average, which could help build him up to around league average at the position.

So is his offensive output worth it?

Last season he accumulated a 4.4 WAR in just 109 games while hitting .279/.384/.555 with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs to give him a 146 wRC+.

Without much explanation needed, the answer is clearly yes. Even if he were to struggle in the field, that offensive production will certainly make this gamble worthwhile if he can accumulate that.

It is worth noting, though, that the Mets rely heavily on their pitching and the Mets current manager, Mickey Callaway, is a big proponent of pitching and defense.

In this situation, though, the Mets might be forced to sacrifice the remarkable glove of Juan Lagares (15 defensive runs saved in 2017) in order to keep Conforto in the lineup.

In the first month of the season, this will be a non-issue as Conforto will not break camp with the team in all likelihood after receiving shoulder surgery last season.

In a perfect world, the Mets would have a designated fielder and place Juan Lagares in center field every day, but unless that position is created in the league, the Mets will have to work with an imperfect scenario as Lagares has just not hit enough to justify starting over any of three outfielders currently expected to start.

Lagares hit .250/.296/.365 with three home runs and 37 RBIs to give him a below average 77 wRC+ and a 1.5 WAR.

The last number was lower than all three of the Mets outfielders last season as Bruce (2.7 WAR) and Cespedes (1.6 WAR in 81 games) rated better.

While Cespedes’ number might have barely eclipsed Lagares’, the Mets are not going to sit a player in the second year of a four-year, $110 million contract.

Is this outfield situation ideal? No. The Mets are going to have to accept the potential struggles of Conforto in center field to make it work, but the stats, although in a short sample size, suggest that Conforto could potentially be passable in center field.