He has more RBIs than Pete Alonso, more stolen bases than Francisco Lindor, as many doubles as Brandon Nimmo, and yet, he doesn’t even play every day. (Yes, it’s only April.)

Photo by Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrone Taylor, who leads the team in OPS at .869, has been all that a team could ask for in a fourth outfielder, a role the Mets have been struggling to fill for, well, awhile. The 30-year-old came to New York with Adrian Houser from the Milwaukee Brewers this winter in a trade for minor leaguer Coleman Crow.

It didn’t take long for Taylor to contribute. He smacked the game-winning single in the Mets’ first victory of the season against the Detroit Tigers on April 4. It was his first career walk-off hit.

“That was awesome,” he said before being showered with Gatorade in an on-field interview with SNY after the game. “I’m just glad we came away with our first W. Now we roll baby!”

Taylor is currently slashing .327/.358/.510 with two homers, 13 RBIs, three doubles and two steals in 54 plate appearances.

He made a leaping catch at the wall in left field in the ninth inning to help preserve an 8-7 win over the Atlanta Braves on April 8. And, just for fun, three days later he hit a grand slam off Luis Guillorme.

He homered, doubled and drove in three in the Mets’ win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. He has shown defensive versatility, appearing in six games in right, five in left and two in center. It will be interesting to see if his playing time is affected with the arrival of J.D. Martinez. Taylor has appeared in the DH role four times this season.

“(Taylor) is going to be a huge part of this team moving forward,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the victory over the Giants, per the Associated Press. “I’m just happy that he’s having great results because he’s such a great guy, but he’s also a really good player.”

Taylor debuted with Milwaukee in 2019 and hit 41 home runs in five seasons with the club. His best year was 2022, when he hit 17 homers and slashed .233/.286/.442 across 405 plate appearances.

In that post-game interview following the win over the Tigers, what he said about the game also could have applied to his career.

“Yeah, you just gotta keep going and keep grinding out there,” he said. “You gotta have a sense of urgency.”