What has to happen for the 2017 Mets to make the playoffs

The outfield situation has to be solved

The Mets outfield situation is currently a mess. They have five outfielders on contract that are all going to want as much playing time as possible. Yoenis Cespedes is the only real guarantee in LF, but Terry Collins will have to figure out what to do with Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce, Michael Confroto and Juan Lagares going forward.

Ideally, Sandy Alderson would be able to deal either Granderson or Bruce by the time Spring Training starts, but if that doesn’t happen, Collins may have to install a revolving rotation in an effort to get everyone as many at-bats as possible.

Of course, if Jay Bruce didn’t struggle as much as he did after making the jump to the Mets, this wouldn’t be nearly as much of an issue, but whatever. You could hope and pray that Bruce has a breakout 2017, and bounces back like Carlos Beltran did in 2006, but Jay Bruce is no Carlos Beltran, so that seems unlikely.

Next: Mets Season in Review: Juan Lagares

The Mets could pull off working them all in the outfield though. It could be a sort of strange platoon-like strategy having Granderson and Lagares in CF, and Conforto and Bruce in RF alternate over the course of the season, but it could work! Should they get a solid strategy going that turns the offense on consistently, the Mets would be in the thick of it for a playoff push next season.