After failing to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth-straight season, the New York Mets are determined to turn things around in 2021, but they’ll certainly need to improve their run prevention in order to participate in October baseball next fall.

As things stand right now, it appears the Mets will likely be forced to slightly reshape their infield this offseason, as they currently have too many bodies and not enough starting positions to go around for everyone. In particular, the front office will need to decide on who’ll serve as the everyday shortstop next season, although making that determination probably won’t prove to be overly difficult.

Even though Amed Rosario opened last season as the starting shortstop, the 25-year old’s worst nightmare quickly came to fruition, as he struggled mightily to replicate his encouraging offensive performance from the 2019 campaign and ultimately lost his starting role.

Taking over the starting gig midseason, rookie Andres Gimenez emerged into one of the top storylines of the shortened-season and easily outperformed his counterpart, which earned him regular playing time through the second half of the campaign.

Now preparing for the 2021 season, there’s a very strong chance Gimenez will receive an opportunity to showcase his talents once again and prove he deserves to remain the club’s everyday shortstop moving forward. Considering he exceeded his expectations in 2020, it also seems the youngster will be provided with an extremely long leash, meaning the organization probably won’t be too concerned if he endures a slow start next spring.

So where does that leave Rosario?

Well, he’ll likely spend a huge chunk of next season serving as the backup shortstop, but it’s also possible the former top prospect could split time at several different positions as well.

Though he’s been groomed as a middle infielder throughout his entire career, this could be the perfect time to move the right-hander all around the field and attempt to convert him into a super utility player.

Since the Mets are looking to become a more versatile team, transitioning the 6-foot-2 infielder into this type of role could definitely help them achieve that goal and it could also improve their overall defense at the same time. While there have been some serious doubts regarding his defensive capabilities, and rightly so based on his career -23 OAA heading into the 2020 campaign, the former international free agent actually took a positive step forward in that department during his limited playing time.

Over his 322 1/3 innings in 2020, Rosario committed just a pair of errors, producing a 2 OAA (tied for fifth-highest among all shortstops who compiled at least 200.0 innings), -3 DRS, 1.0 UZR (tied for eighth-highest), along with a 3.5 UZR/150 (10th-highest), according to FanGraphs.com.

In comparison, the Dominican native posted 17 errors (fourth-most), generating a -8 OAA (fifth-lowest), -10 DRS (third-fewest), -0.8 UZR (eighth-lowest), and a -0.6 UZR/150 (eighth-lowest) over his 1,337 1/3 innings in 2019.

Digging deeper into his defensive performance, Rosario has enjoyed much more success throughout his career when ranging to the left side of his body rather than his right, which is an aspect that could help him perform effectively at third base. If he were positioned close to the third-base line, then the talented infielder wouldn’t need to move to his right nearly as often and could mainly focus on moving to his left.

For a better understanding of his movements, here are his finishing points from the 2020 campaign:

Taking this a step further, here are his finishing points during the 2019 campaign:

Along with spending some time at third base next season, it’d also make plenty of sense to resume Rosario’s experiment as an outfielder, which the Mets quickly halted in 2019 after he started performing effectively at the plate. But now, entering his fifth season in the majors, the coaching staff should utilize this opportunity to try him out at all three outfield positions.

Despite his limited experience in the outfield – he spent just 3.0 innings in left field in 2019 – the 2017 Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year award winner is considered one of the fastest players on the roster and could certainly use that quickness to his advantage moving forward. Though he’s lost a step or two since making his major league debut in 2017, the speedster was still able to finish near the top of the leaderboard in multiple different running categories in 2020.

Among all hitters who earned at least 50 plate appearances last season, Rosario finished tied with the eighth-highest sprint speed (28.7 feet per second), tied for the 11th-most bolts (four), and tied for the 14th-fastest home plate to first base time (4.26 seconds), according to BaseballSavant.com.

Taking into account these impressive results, it seems the two-time Organizational All-Star probably wouldn’t have any major issues covering a ton of ground in the outfield next season. That being said, it’d probably be wise for the coaching staff to ease him into this transition, particularly in center field, as it could be a while before he begins feeling comfortable and confident playing at a position beyond the infield.

But once he reaches that point, Rosario could prove to be a very valuable asset, especially when the Mets face off against left-handed pitchers and need to locate a replacement for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. While the righty has historically struggled against right-handed hurlers, he’s enjoyed a ton of success against lefties and that trait could allow him to earn regular playing time in 2021.

Through 222 plate appearances against left-handers over the last two seasons, the contact-oriented hitter has created 13 doubles, seven home runs, 27 RBIs, .185 ISO, .352 BABIP, .360 wOBA, 6.8% walk rate, 16.7% strikeout rate, 20.7% LD rate, 33.5% hard-hit rate, 128 wRC+ score, and a slashing line of .312/.357/.498/.855.

Despite coming off a brutal offensive showing, Rosario is still expected to earn a minimal raise this winter, as he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career. But for him to remain on this team long-term, it’ll be crucial for him to make the best out of this situation and perform effectively on both sides of the ball when he takes the field next season.

Wasting no time to prepare for spring training, the Mets’ infielder has been working on his swing with hitting instructor Doug Latta – who helped third baseman Justin Turner reinvent his swing – and is hopeful his hard work during this offseason will allow him to return to his previous form in the batter’s box.

With just two seasons remaining on his current contract, the clock is ticking for Rosario to prove he belongs in the major leagues and he certainly can’t afford to sustain any more woes from this point on or there might not be a spot for him in Queens beyond the 2021 campaign.