With MLB’s Virtual Winter Meetings happening this week, the Hot Stove is finally heating up. Regardless of the rumors flying around the league right now, one pass through #MetsTwitter will tell anyone what’s top of mind for many within the fanbase: when is George Springer going to officially become a New York Met?

From the looks of it through various reports, it could be at any moment. Earlier this week, Buster Olney was confident enough to bet his family farm in Vermont that it’ll happen, and his ESPN colleague, Jeff Passan, backs up that same bit of news, too. While we haven’t heard of the potential terms getting tossed around in discussions as of this writing, MLB Trade Rumors has predicted the 2017 World Series MVP will earn a contract worth $125 million over the next five seasons.

Although he’ll be entering his age-31 season in 2021, he’s proven to be worth that kind of investment for the immediate future. Springer has suited up for at least 100 games with the Houston Astros each year from 2015 to 2019, along with 51 of 60 regular-season games this past year. Over this six-season span, Springer’s 24.7 fWAR is among the top 2o position players in baseball. He jumps into the top five when looking solely at outfielders, trailing only Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich, and Bryce Harper.

This is a long way to say Springer has performed among the game’s elite and absolutely deserves to get paid handsomely for it. This general type of investment on the open market isn’t common for the Mets, but as we all know, a new day has dawned. The pursuit of Springer’s services in hopes of bringing him to Flushing brings a couple thoughts, though.

A Natural Every-Day Center Fielder? In Queens?

There’s been a lot of mixing and matching in center field the past decade or so since Carlos Beltran packed his bags for San Francisco, and virtually none of it has included all-around, top-level production. According to Ultimate Mets, the last time Beltran led the club in center field games played was 2009 (77 games played). Since then, there have been five different players who have led the way with regard to playing time at the position:

— Angel Pagan (2010-11)

— Andres Torres (2012)

— Juan Lagares (2013-17, 2019)

— Michael Conforto (2018)

— Brandon Nimmo (2020)

This stretch included some primo defense from Lagares, as he registered three different seasons with at least 17 Defensive Runs Saved, but outside of one occasion, it was accompanied with below-league-average offense. On the flip side, Conforto and Nimmo have each produced above league average at the plate while trying to hold down center field, but defensive metrics have been less than kind to them. Even with Lagares being an asset on defense based off advanced metrics in 2017 himself, the below stat by our own Mathew Brownstein tells the whole story:

Like, seriously — woof.

Springer can clearly bring the goods with the glove, and it’s also clear he’ll bring his bat to the party, too. His 138 wRC+ since the start of 2017 is the third-best mark among qualified center fielders, narrowly beating out guys like Cody Bellinger and Ronald Acuna Jr.

Nimmo is an asset to the Mets and much more than a fourth outfielder, regardless of what you’ll see from some on Twitter. He’s just not a center fielder and has been doing what he can while playing out of position. For a team built around its starting rotation, the above stat about their lack of defense is appalling. We heard Sandy Alderson talk about the lack of defense (and him taking some of the blame for that) in his re-introduction press conference last month. Springer will rectify this problem in a big way without sacrificing anything on offense.

A Legitimate Investment For the Position

We could talk about this endlessly every time the Mets make a move from now to eternity, but still, it bears repeating. If things go New York’s way and Springer lands in Flushing, it’s the kind of investment in a center fielder we haven’t seen since Omar Minaya nabbed Beltran for a then-team-record $119 million contract ahead of the 2005 season.

New York only earned one trip to the playoffs and endured two late-season collapses with him patrolling center field, but he’s considered among the franchise’s best at that position (if not the best) while putting up some monster single-season numbers along the way. When you find a player that can contribute offensively and defensively at a crucial position, it’s easy for them to show the investment is worthwhile.

I’d also love the symmetry going on here if Springer indeed dons the orange and blue for the foreseeable future. Before Beltran signed, it seemed impossible for the Mets to reel in that kind of free agent after the incredible postseason he just had for the Houston Astros. But they did, ushering in the “New Mets” according to Beltran, which brought us one of the best stretches of win-loss success this franchise has seen in its history. Since then, we’ve watched New York try to develop center field talent, trade for it, and push players out of their natural position to fill a hole. None of it has worked as a long-term solution, but that’s OK now.

We’re already enjoying the start of another “New Mets” era, and officially signing Springer would be the biggest signal to-date that times, they’re a-changin’ in Queens.