Kevin asks…

I haven’t heard Lorenzo Cain mentioned a lot early in the offseason. Wouldn’t he be a perfect fit in center field for the Mets?

Rob answers…

Hey, Kevin! Thanks for the question.

A lot of names so far this offseason that have been tied to the Mets are pitchers and rightfully so. It’s what the foundation of this team is built on and will likely be the key to success going forward.

However, going beyond that, yes I do believe the Mets should absolutely bring in an external outfielder. Currently, the team has Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo as locks for Opening Day.

Michael Conforto will be back at some point next season, but as of right now, it’s unclear when that might be.

Beyond that, the team has very few reliable options to soften the blow of Conforto’s absence. We saw this at the forefront late offseason when Travis Taijeron was getting an extended look in the outfield.

If the Mets weren’t strapped with cash, I think bringing Jay Bruce back into the fold would be a great addition. However, with the state of the team the way it is, I doubt they dole out a big contract to him. Plus, from what I’ve heard, I think he’d rather bring his talents to Texas, where he is from, or California.

Beyond that, it’s a relatively weak free agent class for outfielders.

Lorenzo Cain would be a great fit. He’s being marketed as a center fielder, but at this stage in his career, he might fare better at a corner spot.

If the Mets were to sign him and put him there, it would optimize production with Lagares and Nimmo splitting time in central.

The 31-year-old had a strong season in his walk year over in Kansas City. At the dish, he hit .300/.363/.440 with 15 homers and 49 RBI in 645 plate appearances. He also had a 115 wRC+ and a .347 wOBA while being good for 5.3 WAR.

In the center, he committed seven errors in 1,275 innings, while being good for 5 DRS and 1.5 UZR. He didn’t appear in any games in right field in 2017, but in 2016, he played there for 259.2 innings and had 3 DRS and had a 1.5 UZR.

I think if the Mets really want to contend in 2017, they need to shore up several different positions and outfield should be no different.

Cain would be atop my shopping list if I was Sandy Alderson.

MLBTradeRumors has him going to the San Francisco Giants on a four-year, $70 million pact. With the importance of pitching sure to be a much higher sought entity, a team like the Mets might be able to snatch him up for a smaller deal than that. We will just have to see how the market pans out.