The Mets currently have four outfielders on their 40-man roster: Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares, Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto.
However, last month Mets general manager Sandy Alderson indicated that Conforto could miss the beginning of the regular season.
“He may be ready to go by Opening Day but I don’t believe he will be,” Alderson said.
This is to be expected as Conforto underwent major shoulder surgery to repair a torn posterior capsule in his shoulder he sustained after a swing during an at-bat back in August.
“The general outline is six months, that’s what both doctors said,” Conforto said on Sept. 23. “When I see the doctor in a couple weeks, we’ll see where I’m at [and] where my range of motion is.”
The six months Conforto is referring to presumably means before he can resume baseball activity, much less playing everyday. The outfielder said that he doesn’t want to put a timeline on it yet because it could turn out to be more or less time than projected.
With that being said, the Mets need to go out and get themselves some outfield insurance. The days of bringing back Jay Bruce or signing Lorenzo Cain appear to be beyond us, but there are several depth outfielders the team should take into consideration.
Carlos Gomez
Carlos Gomez began his career with the New York Mets in 2007 as a ripe, 21-year-old before being traded that winter to the Minnesota Twins in the deal that netted the Amazin’s Johan Santana.
It wasn’t until Gomez joined the Milwaukee Brewers where he blossomed, appearing in back-to-back All-Star Games in 2013 and 2014.
The Mets nearly reacquired Gomez prior to the trade deadline in 2015 in the ultimately controversial deal that would have sent Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler to Milwaukee, but the trade was nixed at the last minute.
Gomez was instead traded to the Houston Astros, appearing in 41 games the remainder of that season, hitting five homers and driving in 29 runs while hitting at a .242/.288/.383 clip in 163 plate appearances.
The outfielder was released midseason in 2016 by the ‘Stros and subsequently latched on with the Texas Rangers to finish out the year. He also spent the entirety of this past season with Texas.
In 105 games and 426 plate appearances with Texas in 2017, Gomez launched 17 long balls and drove in 51 runs while hitting at a .255/.340/.462 clip with a .343 wOBA and a 110 wRC+
Jarrod Dyson
Jarrod Dyson spent the first seven years of his big league career with the Kansas City Royals before joining the Seattle Mariners in 2017.
In his seven seasons with the Royals, Dyson hit .260/.325/.353, with 48 doubles, 29 triples, seven home runs and swiped 176 bags in 550 games and 1,365 at-bats.
He was named the Mariners everyday center fielder in 2017 after the team acquired him via trade. Dyson appeared in 111 games and hit .251/.324/.350 with 13 doubles, five home runs, 30 RBI and 28 stolen bases. On July 16, Dyson was shut down for the season after undergoing pelvic surgery.
Dyson has stolen 26 or more bases and has had an 84 percent stolen base rate in his only six seasons as a full-time MLB player. Since 2012, Dyson has less stolen bases than only Jose Altuve, Dee Gordon, Billy Hamilton and Rajai Davis. Although he is 33-years-old, Dyson hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
Defensively, he is steady in center field. At times, he has pushed Cain, a Gold Glove caliber center fielder, to right. Dyson has an Ultimate Zone rating (UZR) that ranks fourth among center fielders since 2012.
Dyson is not going to come in and completely turn this offense around. Offensively, he only has 12 home runs and is a .258/.325/.352 hitter for his career. However, in terms of overall value, Dyson’s WAR has ranged from 1.4 to 3.1 since 2012 which isn’t bad for a player who will likely sign a team friendly contract.
Austin Jackson
Austin Jackson played all three outfield spots this past season for the Cleveland Indians, but was not extremely impressive with the glove. He posted -2 defensive runs saved with a -13.8 UZR/150 before losing his starting job to Jason Kipnis and essentially becoming a platoon player.
Jackson killed lefties, slashing .354/.440/.574 with a 171 wRC+ against them. He was less impressive against righties, hitting .291/.345/.411 with a 100 wRC+ against them, but even that number is still pretty solid. He had an expected weighted on base average of .306 against righties as opposed to a .372 expected weighted on base average against lefties.
Overall, in 85 games he hit .318/.387/.482 with seven homers and 35 RBI across 318 plate appearances.
Jackson will likely be seen as platoon player heading into 2018 and will likely perform well as one, which could benefit the Mets as a strong fourth outfielder who could plug in around the outfield when they need him to.
The outfielder is currently looking at a short-term, low-paying deal. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports cites an expert’s opinion who predicts he will get a two-year, $15 million contract. Heyman himself feels Jackson will get a two-year deal worth $12 million dollars.
However, with the market for offensive players being slow to develop, maybe the Mets can get lucky and land him for a less lucrative deal.
Cameron Maybin
Cameron Maybin split the 2017 season between the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros. He was claimed by the latter off waivers at the end of August and was lucky enough to capture a World Series ring.
Overall in 114 games between the two clubs, he hit .228/.318/.365 with 10 homers and 35 RBI, while recording an 88 wRC+ and .300 wOBA across 450 plate appearances. However, his 33 stolen bases is one of the more appealing aspects of his game as he would give the Mets some much needed speed.
Like the aforementioned Jackson, Maybin played all around the outfield in 2017, spending 411 innings in left, 450.2 in central and 52 in right. Historically, he has been a center fielder but has shifted to a more reserve role where he has been called upon to be more versatile.
He wasn’t too bad at really any of the outfield positions as he recorded 3 DRS and a 0.0 UZR in left, 1 DRS and 3.1 UZR in center and -2 DRS and a -2.2 UZR in right. However, the latter is a small sample size.
Jon Jay
Jon Jay spent the first portion of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and played a season with the San Diego Padres in 2016 before latching on with the Chicago Cubs in 2017.
The 32-year-old received ample playing time with the Cubbies this past year, appearing in 141 games and hitting to a solid .296/.374/.375 clip with a 101 wRC+ and .330 wOBA across 433 plate appearances.
For his career, he is a .288/.355/.383 hitter over eight big league season. Jay doesn’t hit for a tremendous amount of power, with his highest home run total for a single season being 10 way back in 2011, but he has a knack for getting on base and can come in late in games as a pinch hitter to give the team a chance.
He played all three outfield positions for the Cubs in 2017 and put up average to below average numbers. At the very least, he would be a serviceable option for New York to help round out their bench and give them reinforcements in the outfield.
Rajai Davis
Rajai Davis is perhaps best known for his dramatic home run while a member of the Cleveland Indians off Chicago Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman that tied Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
While that is likely the pinnacle of his career, the 37-year-old has been a serviceable outfielder throughout his 12-year Major League career.
He spent this past season with the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox, and hit .235/.293/.348 across 366 plate appearances. He also had just a 72 wRC+ and a .279 wOBA. However, like Maybin he is a speedster, as he swiped 29 bags in 2017 and a league leading 43 the year prior.
Davis spent time at all three outfield positions in 2017, but mostly in center. There, he registered a -2.4 UZR and had 0 DRS in 602.0 innings.
Now at the end of his career, Davis can likely be had on a team-friendly, one-year deal. While he isn’t the sexiest of names, he is serviceable and would give the team some depth and just be a fourth or fifth outfielder once Conforto returns.
