NY Mets have extreme choices at their most vacant position on the field

In a lot of ways, the New York Mets have already replaced Brandon Nimmo in the lineup. The projections for him and Jorge Polanco next year are eerily similar.

What the Mets have yet to do is make any improvement in the outfield. The group right now includes Juan Soto in right field, Tyrone Taylor in center field with an asterisk, and an on-the-trade-block Jeff McNeil as the most logical left field choice. If this is what the Mets open the year with, we need to have a conversation about their true interest in competing.

The Mets have a lot of work to do, but no position seems harder to fill than left field unless the team goes to one extreme or another. Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker are the extremely satisfying free agent choices with players like Tyler Soderstrom being fascinating solutions that would cost a ton via trade. Free agency offers lesser choices as well such as Rob Refsnyder, Austin Hays, and Max Kepler. Essentially, it’s a few headliners asking for the moon and seat fillers to buy time until Carson Benge is deemed appropriate.

External left field options for the Mets are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum

It seems unlikely the Mets will end up signing a player like Bellinger or Tucker to a long-term deal. Having not even offered Pete Alonso a deal before he signed for five years and $155 million, it would be a twist on the winter to end up with either of them. They just don’t seem determined to build their winter around either of those star players as the next left fielder.

The Mets can probably convince themselves to create a situation where the starting left fielder on Opening Day is nothing permanent. Benge should be considered a longshot to make the team out of camp for the simple fact they need to wisely prepare for someone else with big league experience to man the position. It doesn’t have to necessarily be the giant splash. It does need to be someone, though.

With the addition of Polanco, the Mets gave themselves flexibility between first base, DH, and emergency starts around the diamond. It was actually a smart and quick move even if it wasn’t necessarily the best. More shocking than anything, we should come to appreciate the way they were able to secure a quality hitter who quietly upped his game last season.

Left field is tougher to figure out so easily. There are options. Many won’t satisfy and come with the added risk of flaming out quickly like many of the outfielders who’ve been brought in for a variety of roles. Recent players like Kevin Pillar and Tommy Pham have overachieved and played well in extended roles. The situation is much different heading into 2026 where there’s an obvious absence of a right-handed slugger in the middle of the lineup.

While putting together a plan to improve the Mets without going over a $320 million budget, the most difficult part I had was in left field. All of the options out there seem so temporary or massive. It'll be a matter of weighing how close Benge is to the majors before we even get to spring training.

Stuck on shorter contracts and timid when it comes to trades, a good guess would be for the Mets to put a Band-Aid on a larger wound. They've surprised us already this offseason, though. Maybe there's something better ahead.