Last year, the Mets quickly moved on from Yoenis Cespedes by agreeing to a one year deal with Alejandro De Aza so he could platoon with Juan Lagares in center field. At the time, the Mets had indicated they were willing to go two to three years for Cespedes, which was aligned with the Sandy Alderson concept of no second generation contracts. This was far short of the six year $132 million contract Cespedes was seeking in free agency.
Due to a number of circumstances, Cespedes never got the contract he wanted. This allowed the Mets a rare opportunity to sign a superstar caliber player on their own terms. Without Jason Heyward or Justin Upton on the free agent market, or really any star outfielders on the free agent market, it does not appear the stars will once again align for the Mets. If they want to retain Cespedes, they are going to have to offer him that big contract he wanted last offseason.
Aside from David Wright, this is not how the Mets do business. Other than Wright, no player entering their age 30+ season has received a five year plus contract offer. With the way the Wright contract has gone, it does not appear the Mets would be willing to change that policy. With that in mind, it appears as if Cespedes will be signing elsewhere this offseason leaving the Mets to once again try to figure out how best to build the team so it can return to the postseason.
One player that could be a potential fit is former Met Carlos Gomez. Ironically, Cespedes was only a Met because Gomez had a hip issue. If not for that, Gomez would be the player entering free agency with the Mets wondering how far they should go to re-sign him.
Now, Gomez doesn’t appear to be an obvious fit at the moment. Even if Cespedes does not return, the Mets already have a lot of quality major league outfield depth. Heading into the season, the Mets have, Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson, Lagares, Brandon Nimmo, and possibly Jay Bruce. It’s going to require a lot of mixing and matching to make sure everyone gets enough playing time to be productive. Why add an outfielder to this mix to further complicate matters?
The easy answer is you want to make the team better, and Gomez does that.
After Gomez seemed lost in Houston, he was released, and he was rejuvenated with the Texas Rangers. In 33 games, Gomez hit .284/.362/.543 with six doubles, eight homers, and 24 RBI. Naturally, many will note not to trust the small sample size. It’s a fair point, but why should you trust the small sample size of Gomez’s time in Houston where he hit .221/.277/.342 with 25 doubles, nine homers, and 42 RBI in 126 games? With that in mind, we should take a broader look at Gomez.
Over the last five seasons, Gomez was a .265/.326/.453 hitter who averaged 26 doubles, 18 homers, and 61 RBI. This is probably a good indication as to where his true talent level is at this point. Still, there is the possibility Gomez is capable of more. He has shown the capacity to hit over 20 homers a season, and he has shown the ability to draw walks.
Then there is the matter of defense. Gomez is still a solid defender despite possibly losing a step in center field. The former Gold Glover has averaged an 8.2 UZR and a 7 DRS in center field. When you couple that with Gomez having a much better bat than Lagares, you have a possible upgrade in center field. With Gomez having experience in both left and right field, the Mets can put out a phenomenal outfield defense late in games to help them protect leads. Keep in mind, that was one of the things the Mets did extremely well in 2015 when they went all the way to the World Series.
As for the rest of the outfield, a Gomez (or Cespedes) signing would force the Mets to put Nimmo in AAA for another season, which isn’t a bad thing for a developing player. Lagares would once again become the late inning defensive option. From there, it gets a little trickier with Bruce, Conforto, and Granderson. One could get traded, one could move to first base, and in the worst case scenario, the Conforto could start the year in AAA until someone gets injured, which as we have seen with the Mets, is likely.
Overall, we know the Mets are too left-handed in the outfield, and they need another right-handed bat. Ideally, that is Cespedes. However, in the event that Cespedes gets that massive contract the Mets aren’t likely to match, the player could be Gomez.
