3 NY Mets options in 2027 if they wave the white flag on Marcus Semien full-time

The Athletic’s Will Sammon took a look at the present and immediate future of the New York Mets. Profiling the rise of Jared Young, fall of Jorge Polanco, and stagnation of Marcus Semien, the largest takeaway seemed to be how down the team is on the second baseman less than a year into his tenure.

“Semien said that when he came off the injured list last month, Mets officials talked with him about sometimes other players starting at second base.”

Little has been done to actually move on from Semien. If not for this note, we’d never know they had any intentions of limiting his playing time. The bold decision to swap him for Brandon Nimmo this past offseason can’t be spun in any way other than to understand it was for financial reasons in the 2029 campaign.

If Semien isn’t actually going to play second base quite as often, what should the plan look like?

How the Mets can manage second base without Marcus Semien there full-time

1) Ride the hot bat without whatever you have

The Mets actually have quite a few experienced second basemen already on the roster. Along with Semien, Brett Baty has gotten reps and done well at the position. It’s easy to forget but Polanco was playing the position regularly before joining the Mets. We can’t actually count on him, if first base has been a health issue this year, to give them anything there.

For the Mets, this might mean a combination of Semien, Baty, and one more player added in. Ronny Mauricio isn’t going to be it as they have shown no intentions of moving him there full-time in the minors or shown faith he’d be a solution. Gabriel Arias can play good defense and might actually be, in some ways, an offensive upgrade at times. It’s still hard to picture him actually playing over Semien or Baty for a large amount of time.

Off-the-wall yet not entirely impossible would be for the Mets to promote Christopher Morel before the season’s end. He has second base experience and it has been one of his better defensive positions. He has mashed baseballs in Triple-A since signing a minor league contract with the Mets. Crazier things have happened.

2) Rush a prospect to the majors

The Mets have more minor league infielders than they could possibly put on one dirt patch at Citi Field. Rushing a prospect to the majors can help push Semien out the door. No one is banging on the door in Triple-A. Down in Double-A, the remade farm system is full of candidates ready to take Semien’s job if allowed.

Emilien Pitre from the Freddy Peralta trade has a solid defensive reputation and appears to be the most natural second baseman. Jefferson Rojas, as long as Francisco Lindor is around, will need to focus on second base or third base. We also have Mitch Voit reminding us why the Mets took him in the first round back in 2025.

Rojas just reached 600 plate appearances in Double-A and appears to be the closest to getting elevated based on experience. He has had a good, not great year on the farm. There’s not much of a reason to keep him there when moving him up to Triple-A has a greater benefit for the major league club in 2027. A few weeks there could give the Mets a better idea of what they have.

3) Add a third baseman and make Bo Bichette your main second baseman

What if there’s another internal option for the Mets and his name is Bo Bichette? The Mets turned him into an above-average fielding third baseman after years of being one of the worst rated shortstops. Finding a third baseman, probably through a trade, would be one way to move off of Semien.

This gets complicated when we try to come up with some names. There are salary dump ideas, like swapping someone for Matt Chapman or Willy Adames (stick him at third base). Isaac Paredes feels like someone who could always end up moved prior to the final year of his contract.

Bichette moving to second base, even on a semi-regular basis, only fits a certain set of circumstances which we can only theorize about. There is no guarantee he’ll be a part of next year’s puzzle either although it seems very likely that opting into his contract is the most practical financial decision he could possibly make.

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