The one position the NY Mets should have left open for a competition

Everything the New York Mets did this offseason had a trickle-down effect. It started with the Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien swap. By doing this, the Mets opened up a corner outfield spot and clogged up second base. It was at that moment when the Mets began to take a route with more lane closures than they could’ve imagined.

Early results from this trade haven’t been great. Nimmo is .300 and Semien is way down at .208. More surprising is how Semien has been a below-average fielding second baseman. The bare minimum the Mets required of him hasn’t been met.

It’s not a hard argument to debate this was a risky trade which hasn’t gone well through the first month-plus. Adding to the discussion is how the Mets could have simplified things by keeping second base open as the one spot on the field where they could actually have a competition. It wouldn’t have been perfect, but this decision has made it more of a free-for-all at all other spots.

The problem with Marcus Semien at second base goes beyond his own performance

Semien at second base means barely any Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, or even A.J. Ewing at the position this season. While Ewing is certainly a center field candidate and would be likely to handle that position with the way things have shaken out with the Mets, the team already has Carson Benge and even Nick Morabito employed for such a task. If Ewing’s only competition was to go up against Baty and Mauricio, he’d have a better shot at coming up to the majors sooner than later.

The Mets went in a completely different direction than leaving the second base job up for grabs. They’ve put an expensive and declining player. They valued second base in a strange way, opting to trade away longtime second baseman Jeff McNeil who cost much less and could contribute in so many more ways.

We won’t play the second-guessing game with the McNeil trade. He faded in the final weeks of 2025. Whether his relationship with Francisco Lindor was a factor or not, he was someone who made sense to move on from.

The problem is the Mets didn’t have an escape route with their replacement. Their entire plan of trading Nimmo for Semien with the purpose of saving money after three seasons is flawed because it feels like it’s costing the ball club now. They’re paying for it now with Semien barely hitting above his weight and owning a -1 OAA (tied with McNeil). He hasn’t made an official error yet, but there have been several misplays and miscues.

Furthering the mayhem, Semien at second base gave the team nowhere to realistically move Bo Bichette in a scenario where he becomes a butcher at third base. One of the few pleasant surprises this year has been his third base defense. That’s now on hold with Lindor out of action. Nevertheless, the movability of Bichette to another position didn’t exist outside of injury.

It was gamble after gamble for the Mets this offseason. Not a single one has been worthy of bragging rights. Stearns made opportunistic moves, first by getting out from the latter part of Nimmo’s contract and following it up with a very affordable trade for Luis Robert Jr.

Second base is now occupied through the 2028 season while the fringe major league Mets battle at other spots, Baty wherever he’s needed with mixed results and offensive questions and Maurico a bit more buried on the depth chart when healthy.

You’re right in thinking the Mets aren’t any better at second base with a Baty/Mauricio/anyone else trifecta. At least that unknown isn’t locked in for multiple seasons. There are a lot of different directions the Mets could have gone at the position. They definitely feel off track with the one they went on.

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