3) Jesse Winker
For a brief period, you could have convinced most fans to re-sign Jesse Winker. The lone bat added at the trade deadline fit in nicely as a corner outfielder and DH. His walk-off home run against the Baltimore Orioles helped them flex ahead of their strong showing right before a make or break road trip that saw them slap around teams directly above them in the NL Wild Card standings.
Winker wasn’t quite the same in September. He batted .071/.250/.143 versus the .343/.357/.508 the month prior. The playoffs were a different story. He did more than smash his helmet into the ground after scoring the insurance run against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3. Winker was routinely at the epicenter of the Mets offense (when he played) and gave them a whole lot of energy throughout. Bringing him back isn’t preposterous.
TLDR Version: Great energy guy. Disappeared for too long in the regular season. There are more consistent options available in free agency. The Mets need to save room for the youngsters, too.