5 NY Mets players who can save them from overpaying for someone at the trade deadline

2) Drew Gilbert

Center field has been an issue for the Mets this year. Jose Siri suffered a tibia fracture on April 14th and is projected to miss upwards of ten weeks. That pushed Tyrone Taylor into regular playing time. Although he has done a commendable job taking over as the Mets' primary center fielder, they could still use the extra depth on the roster.

That could open the door for Drew Gilbert. The Mets acquired Gilbert in the Justin Verlander trade at the 2023 deadline. 2024 was a poor showing for the outfield prospect. Not only did he struggle at the plate, with only a .685 OPS, .314 wOBA, and 79 wRC+, but he was also only healthy enough for 269 plate appearances.

However, 2025 looks like a much better season for Gilbert. He is slashing .284/.394/.457 with a .394 wOBA, and 131 wRC+ in a combined 99 plate appearances for St. Lucie and Syracuse. He has only struck out in 15.2% of his trips to the plate with an outstanding 14.1% walk rate. Gilbert has a whiff rate of just 17.9% as well.

Gilbert only owns a 102 wRC+ at Triple-A so far, but there'sthere's definitely the potential for improvement. His whiff rate sits below 20% at 19.1%, and he has an above-average 89.5 MPH exit velocity and a 10.6% barrel rate. Gilbert has always shown decent raw power, so he could potentially see his .345 slugging percentage go up in a larger sample size.

Bringing up Gilbert could also help the Mets play matchups better. Taylor is hitting left-handed pitching very well this year. Gilbert could be a left-handed hitting complement to Taylor. The center field trade market this summer doesn't look exceptionally deep, so having a good internal option would greatly help the Mets, so they don't have to overpay in July.