5 moves the NY Mets should immediately make if they miss on signing Kyle Tucker

5) Round out the roster in free agency with a veteran bat

Just to catch you up, the Mets lineup now has Duran in left field and Walker at first base. Center field belongs to Tyrone Taylor until Carson Benge proves himself. How do you like it so far?

In addition to that, the Mets have changed David Peterson for Freddy Peralta or Joe Ryan (Tarik Skubal still seems too great of a wish)  in the rotation, not in a direct trade. Jeremiah Estrada is their missing bullpen piece to help put them over the top there. This is a pretty well-stacked Mets team.

Of course, it comes with additional subtractions. We’ll have to agree that Vientos is no longer around. Mauricio might be out, too. In the Peralta trade specifically, some young pitching has been subtracted. It’s okay. We’re focused on 2026.

How do the Mets finalize their team? They’ll need one more free agent veteran bat. Last year’s plan of letting the kids all figure it out left the team needing a little more. While they’ve brought in Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien, both of them are everyday players. There isn’t that sparkplug off the bench to round out the roster.

There’s probably room for another infielder on the Mets roster at this point. We’ll even take a full-blown utility man who can play some outfield as well. In either case, someone with experience around the league is greatly beneficial.

Kiké Hernández, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, or Willi Castro cover some of those bases. All are unsigned and shouldn’t cost a lot. This isn’t necessarily a role that’ll be impenetrable. The Mets farm system lacks depth on the infield at the upper minor league level. If they’re subtracting some infielders, they’ll need someone to come in. We’d love them to find the next Jose Iglesias. We'll accept much less.

Is this version of the Mets better than one with Tucker front and center? It depends on what the Mets won't be able to do if they do sign him.