When a team is riddled with injuries like the Mets have been, what most people focus on is how it negatively impacts the lineup.  The converse of that is an injury creates an opportunity for another player. With Lucas Duda and Wilmer Flores on the disabled list and Yoenis Cespedes unable to play the field, it forced the Mets to play Jay Bruce at first base and put Juan Lagares in center field. This was Lagares’ opportunity to fight for a bigger role on the Mets.

It’s no secret Curtis Granderson has been struggling to begin the season. Through 18 games, he is hitting just .149/.205/.254 with one homer and six RBIs. With the Mets being unable to trade Bruce, Granderson is miscast as a center fielder. His -1 DRS ranks him 16th among players with at least 90 innings in center field this year. His -23.0 UZR/150 ranks 23rd among center fielders with at least 90 innings. Long story short, it has not been a good start to the season for Granderson. With him being 36 years old, there have been more than whispers that he’s not the same player anymore.

While it may be only slightly ajar, the door was open for someone to stake a claim for a spot in the outfield. We saw Michael Conforto do just that. On the season, he is hitting .361/.432/.722 with four homers and eight RBI. He’s also made a series of outstanding defensive plays in left and center field. With Granderson and Jose Reyes‘ struggling, Conforto may just have cemented himself as the team’s lead-off hitter.

Lagares did not make a similar push. While it is inarguable that Lagares is by far the team’s best defensive player, he still does not do enough offensively to play every day.

In his 2014 breakout season, Lagares had a 102 OPS+. Given his glove, you could keep a player like that in the lineup everyday with a league average bat like his. The problem is he’s regressed every season since. Since that 2014 season, Lagares is merely a .250/.289/.356 hitter with a 77 OPS+. There’s really no amount of defense that can keep a bat like that in the lineup. Certainly, not with a National League team that has a crowded outfield.

We have seen glimpses of Lagares being a competent hitter. We saw it in 2014 and we saw it again in the 2015 postseason when he hit .348/.375/.435 with two doubles and two stolen bases. That may not be his true talent level, but it shows you he’s capable of at least being a decent hitter.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t hit to begin the year. So far this season, he is 1-for-18 with his lone hit being a single to break up Gio Gonzalez‘s no-hitter on Saturday. Lagares seems to be regressing, which means once Cespedes returns, he will once again be limited to being a defensive replacement late in games and getting occasional starts against left-handed pitching.

There was an opportunity for Lagares to show the Mets he could be more than a 5th outfielder over the last few games, but all he did was reinforce the notion that he isn’t an everyday player.