5 right-handed hitters other than Austin Hays who seem to match recent NY Mets rumors

5) Kazumoa Okamoto

Eugenio Suarez originally had the fifth spot on this list, but why include him when it seems definite he won’t be calling Queens home. It’s just not practical enough to occur at this point, as much as one could try to justify it. Kazuma Okamoto, on the other hand, seems to match more closely.

A right-handed corner infielder coming over from Japan, he regularly topped 30 home runs in an era of baseball in Japan where power hasn’t been easy to find. His positive defensive reputation would actually bump Polanco into more of a DH than anything. Fully capable of playing some third base as well, Okamoto has enough versatility to offer the Mets a backup plan at the hot corner if Brett Baty and everyone else comes up short or just gets hurt.

How Okamoto’s numbers translate in MLB is unknown, but he seems a little less worrisome than Munetaka Murakami even if the upside isn’t as great. Okamoto won’t put up huge power numbers like Suarez, but enough so with a chance to hit for a high average as well.

The Mets have been eerily quiet on the Okamoto front. It doesn’t tell us much because Murakami rumors were silent until he finally signed with the Chicago White Sox. We’ve come to realize when it comes to the current Mets regime, very little leaks out except for how much the players behind the scenes apparently don’t like each other.