• First base
• Second Base
• Third Base
• Catcher
• Bullpen

The division’s right fielders include two superstars, a former All-Star looking for a resurgence, and two former top prospects looking to take a leap. Here is how we ranked them.

No. 5 – Owen Caissie, MIA

Owen Caissie enjoyed a great season for Triple-A Iowa, batting .286/.386/.551 with 22 homers and 28 doubles in 433 plate appearances. The Cubs called him up to the majors over the summer, but he went just 5-for-26 with one home run and 11 strikeouts against one walk. The Cubs shipped him to Miami as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Edward Cabrera to Chicago. Caissie was the Cubs’ top-ranked prospect at the time of the trade, and it would be foolish to write him off because of a 12-game sample in the majors. However, he still needs to prove himself before he gets ranked any higher.

No. 4 – Dylan Crews, WAS

Expectations were sky-high for Dylan Crews entering 2025. The 2023 second-overall draft pick soared through the minor leagues in 2024, reaching the majors by the season’s end. Unfortunately for Crews and the Nationals, his 2025 didn’t go as planned. Crews strained his left oblique in May, forcing him to miss over two months. When he was on the field, he produced an underwhelming .208/.280/.352 slash line with 10 homers and 17 steals over 322 plate appearances. Crews’ .235 xBA, .393 xSLG and .307 xwOBA may not impress a lot of people, but those marks suggest he got rather unlucky at the plate. Crews posted a solid 3 OAA in right field and had strong sprint speed at 29.0 feet per second, providing some value to make up for his disappointing numbers with the bat. Heading into his age-24 season, there are still reasons to believe Crews can right the ship.

No. 3 – Adolis García, PHI

In 2023, Adolis García was on top of the baseball world. He clubbed 39 home runs in the regular season, then smacked eight more long balls and drove in a record-setting 22 runs as the Rangers took home their first World Series in franchise history. 15 of those runs were driven in during Texas’ ALCS victory over the Astros, for which García was named Series MVP. Two years later, though, García found himself getting non-tendered by the Rangers after a second straight disappointing season. He batted just .227/.271/.394 with 19 homers in 547 plate appearances, posting a career-worst 83 wRC+.

There are reasons to believe García can bounce back offensively – his 92.1 mph average exit velocity ranked in the majors’ 89th percentile, and his .427 xSLG was a modest improvement over his 2024 mark. In the field, the former Gold Glover bounced back from a dreadful 2024 to post a respectable plus-1 OAA. García will get most of the playing time in right field for the Phillies, with the team seeking to move on from Nick Castellanos. If nothing else, García provides Philadelphia with an upgrade at the position as he looks to regain some of the value he’s lost over the last two years.

Ronald Acuña Jr. David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2 – Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL

When Ronald Acuña Jr. returned from his torn ACL, he looked like himself on the field. The 2023 NL MVP batted .290/.417/.518 with 21 homers and a strong 17.2% walk rate in 412 plate appearances. His 161 wRC+ is the second-highest mark of his career, trailing only his 2023 season. There were some issues with his game, though – he posted a dreadful negative-11 OAA in right field, he stole just nine bases, and he dealt with an Achilles injury that landed him back on the injured list in August for a few weeks. His performance tailed off a little bit in the second half of the season, but Acuña still managed to post 3.5 fWAR in just 95 games. It’s very reasonable to expect Acuña to be in the NL MVP conversation in 2026.

No. 1 – Juan Soto, NYM

Despite all the criticism and the Mets’ collapse, Juan Soto had a marvellous first year in Flushing. He batted .263/.396/.525 with a career-high 43 home runs and 38 steals, while setting a franchise record by drawing 127 walks. Soto led the majors in free passes and led the NL in on-base percentage and steals (tied with Oneil Cruz). He finished second in the NL in runs scored and ranked third in home runs, OPS and RBIs. Soto accomplished all that despite having brutal batted-ball luck, as suggested by his .288 xBA, .429 xwOBA and .608 xSLG.

Soto finished third in NL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber. Defense is still a weakness for Soto, as his negative-12 OAA ranked near the bottom among qualified fielders in MLB. However, his bat, along with his newly-found ability to steal bases, makes him the best right fielder in the NL East.

The post 2026 NL East Positional Rankings: Right Field appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer taking the mound on the same day wasn’t the only thing New York Mets fans had to look forward to in Sunday afternoon’s Grapefruit League matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals.

As manager Buck Showalter hinted at on Saturday afternoon, newly signed outfielder Starling Marte also made his highly anticipated Mets debut. The 33-year old has been working his way back from an oblique injury and has been progressing very well.

Despite having only appeared in a minor league game prior to Saturday’s action, Marte showed no signs of rust out there.

Marte struck out in his first at-bat against right-hander Dakota Hudson. He then picked up his first hit of the spring in his second plate appearance, rolling a double down the third baseline.

Two batters later, Marte showed off his speed and wits on the base-paths. Mark Canha blooped a single in front of Harrison Bader in center, and Marte got a tremendous read from second to beat the throw home and score the Mets’ fifth run of the game.

Marte also made a handful of plays in his first-ever action in right field, including a nice running catch on a Dylan Carlson liner to help Scherzer get out of the fifth inning. Showalter mentioned postgame how impressed he was with the ground he covered out there.

Marte himself said postgame that he’d prefer to play center, but the Mets seem to like the idea of him and Canha occupying the corner outfield spots with Brandon Nimmo up the middle. 

Either way, Marte was happy to finally get back out there and in the swing of things. He said he felt good both at the plate and in the field, and he’ll continue to follow the team’s program moving forward to get him up to speed for Opening Day.

As we saw briefly on Saturday, Marte’s presence brings a whole new dynamic to this Mets team. Last season with the Athletics and Marlins, he led the majors with 47 stole bases, hit 12 homers, 27 doubles, and posted a .383 OBP, and .841 OPS over 120 games.

The post Starling Marte Feeling Good Following Spring Debut appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Jason Heyward
Position: Right Field
Bats: Left — Throws: Left
Born: August 9th, 1989 (Age 26)

Because of the Mets stellar starting rotation, having a good defense behind them is imperative. There is one free agent that provides consistently stellar defense, and that is right fielder Jason Heyward.

At just 26 years old, Heyward has already won three Gold Glove awards (2012, 2014, 2015). He played for the Atlanta Braves until 2014, so many Mets fans are well aware of his defensive exploits. Last year he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he continued his fantastic play in right.

And while his glove is one of his best attributes, Heyward can also impact a game with his huge bat. He is a career .268/.353/.431 hitter, and has stolen at least 20 bases and homered 20+ times, three times already in his young career.

Heyward had a tremendous offensive campaign in 2015. He batted .293 with a .359 OBP and .439 SLG in 610 plate appearances with a .346 wOBA, 121 wRC+ and a career high 6.5 WAR. The raw numbers included 33 doubles, 13 home runs, 60 RBI, 79 runs scored, and 23 stolen bases in 154 games for the Cards.

He finished 15th in MVP voting, two spots behind Yoenis Cespedes (13th) and three ahead of Curtis Granderson (18th).

Last year, he was vastly more effective against right-handed pitching, hitting .301/.364/.470 with 11 home runs against them, as opposed to .272/.344/.364 with two home runs against southpaws.

What makes Heyward so enticing is that he still has a lot of room to improve and his best is yet to come. Many scouts believe he has yet to reach his ceiling, so the team that scoops him up this offseason might get more than they hoped for.

Contract: According to MLB Trade Rumors, one GM thinks Heyward could sign an eight-year, $175 million deal with an opt-out clause after four years. This way Heyward could hit free agency again when he’s only 30 years old and in good position for another major contract.

Recommendation: Sadly, pass. While he is definitely a great young player, and extreme cost aside, the Mets have nowhere to put him. They already have promising Michael Conforto in left, Juan Lagares in center, and Granderson for two more seasons in right. The Mets are reportedly shopping for a center fielder to platoon with Lagares and will not make any big-splash signings like Heyward or Yoenis Cespedes. My guess is he either goes back to St. Louis, or heads north to the Cubs.

The post MMO Free Agent Profile: Jason Heyward, RF appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

With more than a quarter of the season now in the books, here is where the Mets rank in one of the metrics that the front office often cites as one of the measures of production they look at.

MLB On-Base Plus Slugging

Catcher:   .620 OPS – 25th

First Base:  .695 OPS – 24th

Second Base:   .759 OPS – 5th

Shortstop:   .551 OPS – 28th

Third Base:   .696 OPS – 17th

Left Field:   .609 OPS – 28th

Center Field:   .797 OPS – 6th

Right Field:   .697 OPS – 18th

Aside from second base and center field, manned mostly by Daniel Murphy and Juan Lagares, the numbers paint a very troubling picture and points out why the offense is among the worst in baseball.

Areas which were identified as problematic last season, such as first base, shortstop. left field and catcher, have actually all gotten worse rather than better this season.

What this shows is clear evidence of what amounts to a very poorly conceived roster and the reason why this team is failing to score runs on a consistent basis.

Discuss this amongst yourselves.

The post Positional OPS Rankings Reveal A Poorly Conceived Roster appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

No other position has seen more turnover at the starting spot for the Mets than Right Field. In 52 seasons, they have seen 33 different players who would be classified as the “primary” player at the position. Darryl Strawberry was the man for eight of those seasons. The other 44 seasons saw 32 different players. The last 16 seasons have seen 15 different regular right fielders for the Mets.

The following are the top eleven players to have regularly manned right field for the Mets.

10 – Alex Ochoa (1996-97) – 170 games (132 starts). In 1996, Ochoa hit .294 with 4 HR and 33 RBI.

10 – Carl Everett (1995) – 170 games (136 starts). In 1995, Carl Everett hit .260 with 12 HR and 54 RBI.

9 – Jeff Francoeur (2009-10) – 192 games (183 starts). In 2011 (with the Mets), Frenchy hit .311 with 10 HR and 41 RBI.

8 – Bobby Bonilla (1992-93) – 229 games (226 starts). In 1993, Bobby-Bo hit .265 with 34 HR and 87 RBI.

7 – Roger Cedeno (1999, 2003) – 238 games (189 starts). In 1999, he hit .313 with 4 HR, 36 RBI and 66 stolen bases.

6 – Joe Christopher (1964) – 263 games (244 starts). In 1964, he hit .300 with 16 HR and 76 RBI.

5 – Jeromy Burnitz (2002) – 290 games (262 starts). In 2002, Burnitz batted .215 with 19 HR and 54 RBI.

4 – Joel Youngblood (1979-80) – 309 games (244 starts). In 1979, Youngblood hit .275 with 16 HR and 60 RBI.

3 – Ron Swoboda (1967-70) – 434 games (372 starts). In 1967, Swoboda batted .281 with 13 HR and 53 RBI.

2 – Rusty Staub (1972-75) – 535 games (531 starts). Rusty had some solid years for the Mets and in 1975 he batted .282 with 19 HR and 105 RBI.

1 – Darryl Strawberry (1983-90) – 1,062 games (1,022 starts). A former number one pick, in 1987, Darryl hit .284 with 39 HR, 104 RBI, and 36 stolen bases.

The post Around the Diamond: The Straw That Stirred Right Field appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

* * * * * * * *

Ask any Mets fan who the greatest rightfielder in franchise history is and before you get to the word “franchise”, you’ll get your answer – Darryl Strawberry.  Now ask them who the best rightfielder is after the Straw Man and you’ll hear crickets.

It’s no surprise that no one can name the second best rightfielder in Mets history.  After all, since Darryl planted his Strawberry Patch and claimed the position for his own, the Mets have auditioned a plethora of candidates for the job and none of them has been able to make the position his own.

Here’s a trivia question for you.  Since Darryl played his last game as a Met in 1990, who has started the most games in right field for the team?  Whatever answer you say, you’re probably wrong.  The correct answer is… wait for it… Jeromy Burnitz!

Burnitz had two short stints with the Mets.  He played for the Mets briefly in 1993 (86 games) and 1994 (45 games), but never made much of a splash.  He showed some promise in 1993 by hitting 13 home runs in 263 at-bats, but his uppercut to end all uppercuts (except his own) led to many strikeouts and a poor batting average.  He paid the price for those home runs by hitting .243 during his rookie season.  He fared worse in the strike-shortened 1994 season, hitting three home runs and striking out 45 times in 143 at-bats.  (Meanwhile, his replacement in right field, Joe Orsulak, struck out 21 times in 292 at-bats in 1994.)

The Mets gave up on the man they thought would replace Strawberry as their left-handed power-hitting rightfielder after the 1994 season, trading him to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Paul Byrd, Jerry DiPoto and Dave Mlicki (whose claim to fame is the 1997 shutout of the Yankees).  The three pitchers combined for a total of 38 wins during their time with the Mets.  Burnitz did a little better than that after leaving New York.

Once Cleveland traded Burnitz to the Brewers in 1996, his career took off. In his first full season in Milwaukee, Burnitz hit 27 HR and drove in 85 runs.  The 27 homers were two more than he had hit over his first four big league seasons combined.  He then had a stellar 1997 season for the Brewers, collecting 38 HR and 125 RBI.  The RBI total is higher than any Met has achieved in nearly half a century of the franchise’s existence (Mike Piazza had 124 RBI in 1999, a mark equaled by David Wright in 2008).

From 1997-2001, Burnitz averaged 33 HR and 102 RBI per season for Milwaukee, which made him a top target for the Mets in 2002.  The Mets re-acquired the man they gave up on nearly a decade earlier to team up with fellow new acquisitions Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar in the hopes of pushing the Mets back to the top of the NL East.  Let’s just say that once Jeromy returned to New York, his career crashed and burn-itzed.

Jeromy Burnitz played one and a half seasons for the Mets after his return to New York in 2002.  The one-time sure bet for a 100 RBI season was only able to drive in 99 runs in his year and a half with the team.  However, his tendency to strike out did not abandon him the way his other skills did, as he fanned a total of 190 times in 2002 and the first half of 2003.

Despite his two short unsuccessful stints in New York, Burnitz’s 290 starts in right field are the most since Darryl Strawberry left the Mets after the 1990 season to play for his hometown Dodgers.  By comparison, David Wright has started 297 games at third base over the past two seasons.  That’s seven more games than any Mets player has started in right field over the past 20 years!  And David Wright actually spent time on the disabled list in 2009 after suffering a direct hit from Matt Cain’s head-seeking missile, yet he still started more games at third base over the past two years than any player has started in right field in 20 years.

Third base used to be the musical chairs position for the Mets.  Through the end of the 2010 season, a total of 142 men had played at least one game at the hot corner.  Third base has been replaced by right field as the position where long-term careers go to die.  From 1962-2010, a total of 197 men have played at least one game in right field.  If Carlos Beltran moves over to right field in 2011 (which he should), he would become the 198th Met to be player #9 on your scorecard.

Of those 197 men to play right field, only Darryl Strawberry (1,062 games) and Rusty Staub (535 games) have started more than 500 games at the position.  Right field has been such a revolving door for players that the 290 starts made by Jeromy Burnitz in right field make him fifth on the all-time Mets leaderboard.

Finally, in the twenty seasons since Darryl Strawberry signed with the Dodgers, the Mets have used 102 players in right field, or more than half of the men who have played the position in franchise history.  Now it’s Angel Pagan’s turn to be the Mets’ rightfielder.  (Or is it Carlos Beltran?)  Given the recent history in right field, neither Pagan nor Beltran will probably keep the position for long.

Most successful teams have stability in their everyday lineup.  Since Darryl Strawberry last played for the Mets in 1990, right field has been anything but stable.  Isn’t it time the Mets found someone they can feel comfortable with as their rightfielder?  After all, twenty years is an awful long time to be conducting tryouts for the job.

The post 20+ Years Of Musical Chairs In Right Field Since Strawberry Left appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

What Does This mean for the opening day lineup?

Catcher – Josh Thole

First Base – Ike Davis

Second Base – Brad Emaus

Shortstop – Jose Reyes

Third Base – David Wright

Left Field – Jason Bay

Center Field – Angel Pagan

Right Field – Carlos Beltran

Bench

OF – Scott Hairston

Catcher – Mike Nickeas

2B/SS – Chin-lung Hu

UTIL – Willie Harris

UTIL – Daniel Murphy

The offensive side of the ball appears pretty good. Mike Nickeas should only be up until Ronny Paulino serves the duration of his 8 game suspension pending his bloodwork isn’t a more serious issue. Hu is the defensive specialist/late inning replacement at either position. Daniel Murphy isn’t an excellent defender, but plays 5 of 8 positions which adds to his versatility. Scott Hairston and Willie Harris will be the primary backup outfielders, but I expect they could be on the chopping block pending a slump.

Pitching Staff

SP1 – Mike Pelfrey

SP2 – R.A. Dickey

SP3 – Jonathon Niese

SP4 – Chris Young

SP5 – Chris Capuano

Long Reliever – D.J. Carrasco

Loogy – Tim Byrdak

Middle Reliever – Taylor Bucholz

Middle Reliever – Pedro Beato

Middle Reliever – Izzy/Acosta/Boyer.

Setup Man – Bobby Parnell

Closer – Francisco Rodriguez

The starting rotation is comprised of pitchers who minus Jonathon Niese are going to rely on their defense to turn batted balls into outs. Niese is the only pitcher who’s K/9 is above 6. The pen is the exact opposite, consisting of guys who pretty much all throw 90+, which is a big difference from the Takahashi/Dessens crafty bullpen and to the pound, pound, pound bullpen.

Overall, I see this roster as one that is capable of surprising many teams and playing good consistent baseball. My only worry is only having one lefty and the possibility of Byrdak getting worn down. If one of the righties can become a strong crossover guy, that will save Byrdak from becoming Feliciano 2.0

The post And Then There Was One…The Almost Opening Day Roster appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Beltran missed the entire first half of last season, which allowed current Mets’ center fielder Angel Pagan to show his skills at the position.

Beltran is 33 years old and entering the final year of his contract. Though it’s unlikely he will be a New York Met beyond this season (if he even makes it through this season), he will have a chance to help the Mets organization with this move.

This decision should positively benefit the Mets, and here’s how:

Since the decision was made early in spring training, Beltran will have plenty of time to adjust to playing right field. For his career, he has only played three games in right, but he will see extra reps each day so he can get comfortable.

When healthy, he is still a great defensive outfielder who can cover a lot of ground. Citi Field’s right field is quite an adventure, so having someone out there that can cover ground will take away would-be extra-base hits.

At this stage of his career, Beltran realized that it would be a matter of time before he shifted to one of the corner spots. Pagan obviously has more range than Beltran and certainly showed it last year.

During the first half of last season, Pagan filled in beautifully for Beltran. He was arguably one of the top outfield defenders in the league for the entire first half of last season. When Beltran returned, Pagan willingly shifted to right to accommodate the Gold Glover. Beltran’s shift to right opens up center for Pagan, who rightfully won this competition early last season.

The benefit of having two center fielders playing next to each other is simple: not many balls should find the gap. Both can cover a ton of ground, so they have a chance to limit the number of extra-base hits. Pagan idolizes Beltran, so the two have formed a solid connection.

The move to right should ensure that Beltran’s knee heals healthy and he can return to the five-tool player that he is. His offense should see an increase. Beltran may not put up 30 HR or 100 RBI, but he should put up good numbers if healthy. He will need to be productive since he is the Mets’ projected clean-up hitter.

As the center fielder, Pagan instantly becomes one of the leaders of this team, which has lacked a bona fide leader for some time. I may be biased for having played the position, but center field is the most important position on the field. Any ball the center fielder can get to is his.

In his first real test as Mets’ manager, Terry Collins succeeded with flying colors. Collins brought Beltran and Pagan together and put the decision in Beltran’s hands. Though Beltran said he would eventually regain the strength to play center, he decided that Mets would be best suited with Pagan at the position moving forward. Rather than telling Beltran what he had to do, Collins handled the situation perfectly and actually let Beltran make the announcement himself.

Despite injuries recently, Beltran has had an impressive Major League career. However, with Beltran’s move, the Mets established early on that the no one is above the team. Beltran’s move to right could be the first of several surprises in store for the 2011 New York Mets.

The post What Beltran’s Move To Right Means For Mets appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

It’s no surprise that no one can name the second best rightfielder in Mets history.  After all, since Darryl planted his Strawberry Patch and claimed the position for his own, the Mets have auditioned a plethora of candidates for the job and none of them has been able to make the position his own.

Here’s a trivia question for you.  Since Darryl played his last game as a Met in 1990, who has started the most games in right field for the team?  Whatever answer you say, you’re probably wrong.  The correct answer is… wait for it… Jeromy Burnitz!

Burnitz had two short stints with the Mets.  He played for the Mets briefly in 1993 (86 games) and 1994 (45 games), but never made much of a splash.  He showed some promise in 1993 by hitting 13 home runs in 263 at-bats, but his uppercut to end all uppercuts (except his own) led to many strikeouts and a poor batting average.  He paid the price for those home runs by hitting .243 during his rookie season.  He fared worse in the strike-shortened 1994 season, hitting three home runs and striking out 45 times in 143 at-bats.  (Meanwhile, his replacement in right field, Joe Orsulak, struck out 21 times in 292 at-bats in 1994.)

The Mets gave up on the man they thought would replace Strawberry as their left-handed power-hitting rightfielder after the 1994 season, trading him to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Paul Byrd, Jerry DiPoto and Dave Mlicki (whose claim to fame is the 1997 shutout of the Yankees).  The three pitchers combined for a total of 38 wins during their time with the Mets.  Burnitz did a little better than that after leaving New York.

Once Cleveland traded Burnitz to the Brewers in 1996, his career took off. In his first full season in Milwaukee, Burnitz hit 27 HR and drove in 85 runs.  The 27 homers were two more than he had hit over his first four big league seasons combined.  He then had a stellar 1997 season for the Brewers, collecting 38 HR and 125 RBI.  The RBI total is higher than any Met has achieved in nearly half a century of the franchise’s existence (Mike Piazza had 124 RBI in 1999, a mark equaled by David Wright in 2008).

From 1997-2001, Burnitz averaged 33 HR and 102 RBI per season for Milwaukee, which made him a top target for the Mets in 2002.  The Mets re-acquired the man they gave up on nearly a decade earlier to team up with fellow new acquisitions Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar in the hopes of pushing the Mets back to the top of the NL East.  Let’s just say that once Jeromy returned to New York, his career crashed and burn-itzed.

Jeromy Burnitz played one and a half seasons for the Mets after his return to New York in 2002.  The one-time sure bet for a 100 RBI season was only able to drive in 99 runs in his year and a half with the team.  However, his tendency to strike out did not abandon him the way his other skills did, as he fanned a total of 190 times in 2002 and the first half of 2003.

Despite his two short unsuccessful stints in New York, Burnitz’s 290 starts in right field are the most since Darryl Strawberry left the Mets after the 1990 season to play for his hometown Dodgers.  By comparison, David Wright has started 297 games at third base over the past two seasons.  That’s seven more games than any Mets player has started in right field over the past 20 years!  And David Wright actually spent time on the disabled list in 2009 after suffering a direct hit from Matt Cain’s head-seeking missile, yet he still started more games at third base over the past two years than any player has started in right field in 20 years.

Third base used to be the musical chairs position for the Mets.  Through the end of the 2010 season, a total of 142 men had played at least one game at the hot corner.  Third base has been replaced by right field as the position where long-term careers go to die.  From 1962-2010, a total of 197 men have played at least one game in right field.  If Carlos Beltran moves over to right field in 2011 (which he should), he would become the 198th Met to be player #9 on your scorecard.

Of those 197 men to play right field, only Darryl Strawberry (1,062 games) and Rusty Staub (535 games) have started more than 500 games at the position.  Right field has been such a revolving door for players that the 290 starts made by Jeromy Burnitz in right field make him fifth on the all-time Mets leaderboard.

Finally, in the twenty seasons since Darryl Strawberry signed with the Dodgers, the Mets have used 102 players in right field, or more than half of the men who have played the position in franchise history.  Now it’s Angel Pagan’s turn to be the Mets’ rightfielder.  (Or is it Carlos Beltran?)  Given the recent history in right field, neither Pagan nor Beltran will probably keep the position for long.

Most successful teams have stability in their everyday lineup.  Since Darryl Strawberry last played for the Mets in 1990, right field has been anything but stable.  Isn’t it time the Mets found someone they can feel comfortable with as their rightfielder?  After all, twenty years is an awful long time to be conducting tryouts for the job.

The post After Strawberry, It’s Been 20 Years of Musical Chairs In Right Field appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

As I wrote back when the Mets first acquired him, the Mets were the big winners when they dumped the lackluster Church in exchange for the young righthanded former first rounder, Jeff Francoeur. About a week and a half later, I indicated that his recent hitting woes were simply a matter of making adjustments. Here is what I wrote on July 28th,

In Francoeur, the Mets got themselves a player who already had two 100 RBI seasons before his 24th birthday. Many Mets fans have said that those 100 RBI seasons were now a distant memory and he was washed up. Washed up at 25? I didn’t buy it for one minute. What I saw was a young player who tasted success early on, and when pitchers adjusted to him, he failed to adjust to them. It was plain to see. In 2008, Frenchy unsuccessfully tried to fix things his way. In 2009, he was desperately seeking help wherever he could find it, including boarding a plane to meet with another team’s hitting instructor. That one move was the beginning of the end his tenure with the Braves, and led to a new opportunity with the Mets. It was a perfect match, although I may have been the only one thinking it at the time.

It appears that I was right on the mark, and that his work with Gary Sheffield and Howard Johnson has paid off. As the saying goes, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

In 111 at-bats with the Mets, Frenchy has a .297 AVG/.336 OBP/.477 SLG with 5 HR, 20 RBI and just 13 K’s.

In 232 at-bats with the Mets, Churchy had a .280 AVG/.332 OBP/.375 SLG with 2 HR, 22 RBI and 36 K’s.

Church was striking out more and stranding more runners, and was half the run producer Jeff Francoeur has been for the Mets.

There is now no doubt about what Jeff Francoeur means to this team in terms of his powerful bat, great defense, and contagious positive attitude. The 25 year old right fielder, is clearly a key component to the 2010 Mets and will hit regularly in the heart of the Mets lineup for many years to come. By this time next year, even all those who doubted the enthusiasm and expectations of a minority of Mets fans, will come to view him as a fantastic trade acquisition who will bring more to the Mets than Ryan Church ever has or could. His star continues to rise each and every day, while Church fades into obscurity in his platoon role. As I stated previously in my posts and comments, I expect big things from Francoeur in 2010 and a .285 AVG – 28 HR – 110 RBI season is not out of the question. What I want all of you to consider is that Francoeur hasn’t even reached his peak years yet

Having Francoeur on-board for 2010 is one less thing the Mets have to worry about as they go about the business of patching up some holes throughout the team. The outfield becomes much more settled with a healthy Carlos Beltran patrolling centerfield and Frenchy covering rightfield. The Mets are two-thirds of the way closer to a vastly superior defensive outfield alignment. The game plan for leftfield has yet to be decided, but you can expect Angel Pagan to see plenty of time as the fourth outfielder.

My hope is that they could fill leftfield with someone who could cover a lot of ground and preferably add some lefthanded power to the lineup. The Mets won’t have much to spend, but I suspect it will be easier for them to to solve the leftfield problem, than it would be to solve catcher, starting pitching and possibly first base too.

The point is that if we still had Church, we’d probably be discussing how to replace him, and rightfield would probably have also been on our to-do list.

Thanks Omar (or should I say John Ricco?), for sparing us that.

The post At Least We’re Set In Right Field For 2010 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.