With the impending return of J.D. Davis after the All-Star break, the Mets will have a roster crunch with someone needing to be the transactional casualty. Considering his recent diminishing playing time, there’s reason to believe Billy McKinney could be the man to go, but there are several reasons why he shouldn’t be.

Billy McKinney got off to a hot start with the Mets. Since coming over from Milwaukee, McKinney has posted a .780 OPS and 115 OPS+ in 34 games to go along with stellar defense.

Between his time with the Brewers and the Mets, McKinney has graded out as a solid defender according to Baseball Savant, posting a 63rd percentile Outs Above Average, and a 70th percentile outfielder’s jump. Additionally, McKinney has recorded a 67th percentile sprint speed.

The versatile outfielder grades out well defensively by just about any metric, posting a +3 DRS so far in 2021 between left field and right field. His grades through Savant make a case that he could perform well in center field if given the chance, especially considering his outfielder’s jump and sprint speed.

For the sake of comparison, Kevin Pillar has recorded a +1 DRS in center field in 266.1 innings, despite a 30th percentile outfielder’s jump and a 56th percentile sprint speed, both considerably worse than McKinney’s marks. Despite the poor grades, Pillar is still able to handle center field fairly well, giving reason to believe that McKinney could also fair well in center field despite minimal experience in the Major Leagues (2.1 innings).

Nothing about McKinney’s game stick out in a major way, but nothing about his game screams that he isn’t a major leaguer. The 26 year-old ranks in the bottom half of the league in Savant’s average exit velocity, strikeout rate, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate. McKinney has excelled at hitting the fastball, however. He’s seen a fastball 56.3% of the time this season, and is hitting .243 against it with a .423 slugging percentage. That comes out to a +4 run value against the fastball, his best against any pitch.

Not to mention, in just 36 games and just 88 at bats, McKinney sits with 5 homers and 7 other extra base hits, which would put him on a 250 at bat pace of around 14 long balls and 20 other extra base hits. His production off the bench is there, which is shown in his Mets slash line of .216/.303/.477.

McKinney is under contract through all of his arbitration seasons, running up with his free agency following the 2025 season. The control can be valuable for the Mets, considering their only outfielders on the 40-Man roster under contract after the 2022 season are Dom Smith, Johneshwy Fargas, Khalil Lee and McKinney.

McKinney has outperformed some veterans the Mets brought into the fold, including Pillar, who is due to be free agent at the end of the season (Pillar does carry a player option, that if declined turns into a club option). The question then becomes, do you hold onto these veterans a few more months at the expense of multiple years of club control?

Clearly, it is not a simple answer, and one that I’m glad someone else is paid the big bucks to make. McKinney undoubtedly brings value on the field, but the likes of a Pillar brings value in the clubhouse as well. There are other options, such as José Peraza and Luis Guillorme, but they each bring aspects to the table that others don’t. However, Guillorme is an all-world defender and Peraza has become somewhat of a folk hero for the Mets with his repeated clutch hits.

Of the names mentioned above, Guillorme is the only one with options, but if they were to demote him, one of the best defenses in baseball would take a hit without a key member.

Billy McKinney’s value to the Mets comes both on the field and in the books, with his combination of speed, power, and stellar defense, and a cheap and team friendly deal that doesn’t see him hitting Arbitration 1 until after 2022 and keeps him under control through 2025. That control is valuable to a team that sees several pieces set to hit the market at the end of the 2022 campaign, especially from their core group of outfielders.

Does Billy McKinney catch your eye and blow you away? No, he doesn’t. But he brings value to the Mets in ways a lot of other players on the roster don’t, which could play to his favor as the Mets and Zack Scott head towards a tough roster decision.