NY Mets rumors linking them to free agent outfielder only make sense in one scenario

Collectively as New York Mets fans await with bated breath on first baseman Pete Alonso's free agency decision, an interesting tidbit made headlines recently with the Mets being named as a potential suitor for free agent outfielder Alex Verdugo. Verdugo is coming off of a down year with the cross-town rival New York Yankees and he seems like a puzzling fit on the Mets' current roster with Juan Soto,, Tyrone Taylor, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, and Starling Marte all occupying outfield spots at this time.

Should the Mets pursue Verdugo, it would make sense that it would be an addition-by-subtraction situation, as Manager Carlos Mendoza would be left with a glute of outfielders vying for playing time this upcoming season. An interesting wrinkle to this story is that the Mets have also made it known this winter that they would be potentially interested in trading Starling Marte and they would be willing to pay some of the remaining $20 million on Marte's current deal.

It only makes sense for the Mets to trade away Starling Marte if they plan to add to their current outfield construction

While there is no known current deal in the works involving Marte, the only way it makes sense for the Mets to add Verdugo to their outfield mix would be if they trade away Marte and the remaining $20 million he is owed on the final year of his deal. Marte has struggled with injuries and played only in 86 games in 2023 and 94 games in 2024, and he will also be 36 years old on Opening Day this year.

Moving to Verdugo will give the Mets a bit of youth in their outfield mix with Verdugo being 8 years younger than Marte, and they may see more upside in Verdugo's game at this stage in his career despite the down 2024 season. We can't forget that the Mets have recently struck gold on bounce-back candidates and Verdugo fits that MO.

Verdugo was a productive player during his 4 years in Boston (.281/.338/.424) with a .761 OPS before being traded over to the Bronx last winter. Those numbers are eerily similar to the production he put up in his three years with the Dodgers when he was regarded as a rising star in the outfield during his time in Los Angeles when he was then flipped as the main piece in the Mookie Betts trade to Boston.

There appear to be multiple teams in on Verdugo's market currently and with his market heating up, the Mets seem to be in the thick of it. While I don't necessarily hate the move, the only way this move would make sense logistically from the current roster construction would be the Mets flipping Starling Marte to another club, and potentially filling another hole on their roster by picking up his salary in the deal.