NY Mets: How the lineup would thrive with universal DH

The DH could help the Mets substantially.

Once the lineup is healthy, Lindor would likely move back to shortstop and Javier Báez would move to second base, but the rest of the lineup is a mystery.

Michael Conforto has been very bad against left-handers this season so it makes the most sense to sit him when facing them and shove Jeff McNeil into right field. But can you sit Jeff McNeil, considering that McNeil is one of the best examples of a lefty who hits right-handed pitching well. His average was .318 two years ago, but that was mainly helped by his success against righties, hitting a keen .320. His bat is too valuable to not have in the lineup.

On the flip side, when Conforto gets hot, he’s really hot, but he just hasn’t had it this season. The best you can say is that he doesn’t look as bad as Giancarlo Stanton, who is having terrible at-bats. Conforto is seeing the ball, but not hitting it hard or having good swings. His hard-hit rate is down this year.

At the end of July, Conforto’s batting average slid down below .200, which clearly isn’t great. There’s no indication that this will be the norm going forward. He’s a regular 20-30 home run guy, yet has a total of 6 through 67 games this season. Last year, he had 9 in the shortened 54 games.

Arguments for a universal DH have strengthened as of late, especially after several injuries hurt starting pitchers this season, related to batting. Even if teams have a few good-hitting pitchers, it still makes sense to initiate the DH.

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This is especially relevant for the Mets, whose offense has stumbled so far. Báez will be a great spark addition, but if given the DH, this offense can be outright dangerous.