The Mets defense has suffered a devastating blow with Juan Lagares likely down for the season. With Yoenis Cespedes injured as well, though hopefully for the shorter term, the Mets are down to three every day-quality outfielders: Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and Jay Bruce.

In Friday’s game against the Diamondbacks, the outfield alignment was as follows: Nimmo in left field, Conforto in center field, and Bruce in right field. Bruce playing right field is obvious, however Conforto should not be playing center field. This article will take a look at why he should be in left with Brandon Nimmo in center.

First and foremost, left field is Conforto’s best defensive position. In 1393 career innings playing left field, he has accrued 11 DRS, 7.4 UZR, and 6.8 UZR/150. He has played 546 career innings in center field, recording -5 DRS, 0.7 UZR, and 1.3 UZR/150. The numbers are consistent so far this season as in just 26 innings in left field, he already has 2 DRS and 1.1 UZR while in 178.1 center field innings, he has -2 DRS and -0.9 UZR.

While the sample size is smaller, it is clear that Brandon Nimmo is better in center field than Conforto. While across 75.1 innings last season he accrued -3 DRS and a -1.0 UZR, he has improved this season with 0 DRS and 0.5 UZR in 58 innings. In left field, he has played 39 innings with 0 DRS and -0.3 UZR this season. Those numbers mean he is ever-so-slightly above average in center field and ever-so-slightly below average in left field. Again, these numbers come from a small sample size, so take them with a grain of salt.

There is something else that gives Nimmo and advantage over Conforto in center field: Speed. Brandon Nimmo (28.2 ft/sec) is the third-fastest runner on the Mets behind Amed Rosario (29.0 ft/sec) and Juan Lagares (28.6 ft/sec). After you pass Jose Reyes (27.6 ft/sec), Yoenis Cespedes and Conforto are tied for fifth-fastest on the team (27.4 ft/sec). That 0.8 ft/sec might not seem like much, but when compared to the center fielders in the rest of the league, it’s much more telling. Nimmo’s sprint speed ranks 28th among center fielders while Conforto is all the way down at 40th (out of 47).

Despite the small sample size, and even if Nimmo and Conforto were exactly the same in center field, Conforto should still then be in left. Conforto is easily a better left fielder than Nimmo, so the outfield is better overall defensively with Conforto in left, Nimmo in center, and Bruce in right.

Where he is playing in the outfield has not affected his offense historically. He is a .253 career hitter as a left fielder and .254 as a center fielder. The rest of his offensive numbers (home run rate, on-base percentage, etc.) match up as well. Though, it is conventional baseball wisdom that center field takes more of a toll on a player than left over the course of a season and a career. It is very rare that a team’s big bopper mans center field, usually when those guys are in the outfield they are in left or right.

This article can be summed up as simply as this:

With Yoenis Cespedes injured, the Mets best left fielder is Michael Conforto. With Juan Lagares injured, Brandon Nimmo is the Mets’ best center fielder. Logically, Conforto should be playing left field and Nimmo should be playing center. It’s as simple as that.