The most underrated NY Mets roster addition of the offseason and why

The New York Mets have made plenty of additions this offseason. According to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource depth chart, there are seven players on the Mets’ roster who were not with the team in 2024. One of those seven additions was center fielder Jose Siri, who the Mets acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in November for Eric Orze. But while Siri is coming off a rough season with the bat, he could end up being the most underrated addition they made all winter.

Last season, Siri batted .187/.256/.366 with a .271 wOBA and 78 wRC+ through 448 plate appearances. The center fielder struck out 37.9% of the time and only drew a walk in 6.9% of his trips to the plate. Of the silver linings to his 2024 campaign, Siri went yard 18 times with a .179 isolated slugging percentage.

But Siri is one of the best defenders in all of baseball. He had +12 defensive runs saved and +16 outs above average. It is the third season in a row the center fielder has had double-digit OAA. Since his first look at extended playing time in 2022, Siri is tied with Marcus Semien for the most OAA at +41. Only one other outfielder, Daulton Varsho, is ahead of him at +44. Siri covers plenty of ground as he was in the 99th percentile of sprint speed and has a cannon for an arm as he was in the 97th percentile of position player arm strength.

So Siri is a fast, defensive first outfielder, how is he that underrated?

Mets fans will be delighted to have Jose Siri in 2025

Despite his struggles with the bat, he still had +1.9 fWAR. Around +2.0 WAR is considered an average contributor. Last season, the Mets only had one outfielder, Brandon Nimmo, with a higher fWAR at +2.7. Juan Soto should far surpass both Nimmo and Siri next season, but the fact Siri provided about average value despite next to no contributions with the bat sets a high floor.

It is also not as if Siri isn’t far removed from a much better year with the stick. In 2023, he batted .222/.267/.494 with 25 homers in 364 plate appearances. Siri still had a poor 35.5% K% and 5.5% walk rate, but his .272 isolated slugging percentage was the 13th-best among players with at least 350 plate appearances. He was tied with Mookie Betts and surpassed the likes of Adolis Garcia, Ronald Acuna Jr., and his now-teammate and outfield companion Juan Soto. Overall, he had a .319 wOBA and 105 wRC+. That above-average production, combined with his outstanding glove, led to a +2.6 fWAR in just 101 games played.

There were still some glimmers of hope in 2024 as well. Siri had a 14.7% barrel percentage, which was in the 94th percentile of batters last season and the 17th best in baseball. He was also in the 55th percentile of xSLG% at .404. Siri’s 43-point gap between his slugging percentage and expected slugging was the 19th largest in the league. His .297 xwOBA was only in the 26th percentile of fellow batters, but that was still a 26-point difference and the 15th largest gap between his xwOBA and wOBA in the league. It is almost exactly what he put up in 2023, as well.

His xwOBA of .296 between 2023 and 2024 nearly matches that of his .292 wOBA. In that time, he has a 91 wRC+. The league average center fielder put up a 96 wRC+ and .303 wOBA. Not only does that put Siri's bat in line with what you’d typically find in CF, but his defense makes him extremely valuable. He has +4.4 fWAR in his last 812 plate appearances. That’s a pace of +3.3 fWAR-per-600 trips to the plate.

Siri isn’t going to carry the Mets’ offense, but he is going to be an outstanding glove in center field. Even if he provides some semblance of a bat and puts up a 90-95 wRC+, he could push +3.0 fWAR in a full season. He has a chance to be the best non-Juan Soto addition of the Mets’ offseason.