NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 Luis Robert Jr. alternatives that would’ve been worse

And the New York Mets swing and miss again at another offseason addition. There will be weeks, months, and maybe years to assess what the team did from the end of the 2025 season through to the start of 2026. Their offseason has been dissected from multiple angles with one of the lesser discussed ones being who they were fortunate to dodge. While Kyle Tucker vs. Bo Bichette comparisons have made the rounds, there are a few others out there who went elsewhere or stayed put that the Mets were looking for not having the best of seasons.

Specifically, it’s center field where the Mets seemed destined to make a mistake. The trade for Luis Robert Jr. hasn’t gone as they had hoped, but things could have gone worse. The plan always seemed to be for A.J. Ewing to eventually take over, which he already has. The contract, with a player option for next year, is favorable. These other five players would have stuck around for longer and gotten in the way. Some woudl have also cost the Mets more than Luisangel Acuna and Truman Pauley. The Mets didn't win the trade for Robert. They also didn't annihilate their future.

Five offseason Mets OF targets who would’ve been worse additions than Luis Robert Jr.

1) Signing Harrison Bader

Harrison Bader’s contract isn’t as financially painful as what Steve Cohen will Luis Robert Jr. this year to spend most of the season on the IL. However, with two seasons of $10.25 million dedicated to Bader, the better situation may be to eat the sum all at once rather than let Bader linger around for a second season.

Bader was a rumored free agent target of the Mets who ended up on the San Francisco Giants. One of several additions who failed to pack a punch, he is hitting .170/.198/.358 this season. At least with Robert he can be written off after one year. With Bader, he’ll linger for another.

2) Trading for Jarren Duran

The Mets and Boston Red Sox were bound to make a trade of some kind. They needed a corner infielder and we needed an outfielder. No deal ever came to fruition with the Red Sox holding onto their outfield surplus and the Mets doing the same with their extensive group of infielders. As troublesome as Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have been, the bigger error might’ve been trading for Jarren Duran and getting trapped with him in the outfield.

First off, Duran on the Mets means Juan Soto is in right field which weakens the team defensively. Even if he ended up in center field, it blocks A.J. Ewing. The emergence of Carson Benge, with some good and bad thus far, might not include the same level of patience. Duran would have undoubtedly cost more than what the Mets paid to acquire Robert. Baty plus a good prospect is a reasonable asking price to begin. Any scenario which would have brought Duran to New York would have been a major splash by the Mets, not a fly-by-night addition for the bottom of the order. Duran has a .602 OPS on the season, the worst of any qualified MLB outfielder.

3) Trading for Jake Meyers

The Houston Astros might wish they did trick the Mets into trading for Jake Meyers. A defense-first player the Mets had interest in the offseason, he was recently demoted by Houston after posting only a .580 OPS. His season numbers are right around where Tyrone Taylor has been except without much power to speak of.

The cost to acquire Meyers is something we’ll never know about. However, it’s abundantly clear the Mets wouldn’t have gotten much of anything at the position and maybe even convinced themselves longer than necessary to promote A.J. Ewing to the majors.

4) Trading for Brenton Doyle

Brenton Doyle was someone who entered the Mets rumors chat and stayed put with the Colorado Rockies. Another Gold Glove player you’d have no idea what to expect from offensively, Doyle has played only 43 games this year and posted a .207 batting average in the time he has played. His 122 plate appearances include only one home run.

Many of the same issues arise with Doyle as they would with anyone else. The injury, a left oblique injury, could’ve happened or not as a member of the Mets. The issue with him is how much the Mets would have given up for a guy who has hit .202 away from Coors Field in his career. You don’t do that.

5) Trading for Steven Kwan

Duran has the worst OPS among qualified outfielders, but second is Steven Kwan at .606. This one might be even more painful because he has hit only 1 home run. Duran has knocked a dozen homers. Completely different players, Kwan was an odd offseason trade target of the Mets who undoubtedly would have been the priciest of everyone on this list. Four Gold Gloves and two straight All-Star appearances are hard to find.

Like all of these trade candidates, he stayed put with the Cleveland Guardians. While the defense remains topnotch even with some frequent center field appearances, the Mets would have bought into a failed contract that would have come at a larger cost.

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