Projected NY Mets starting lineup after the signing of Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco was a realistic New York Mets offseason addition until they traded for Marcus Semien. He became forgotten. When you add a Gold Glove caliber second baseman, you scroll over the possibility of adding Polanco. Or do you?

Apparently not. Interested in having him become the first baseman/DH and maybe log some games at other infield spots, he’ll get paid $20 million in each of the next two seasons. Slotted in mostly at first base and DH, what does the Mets lineup look like now after this signing?

The Mets lineup after signing Jorge Polanco

FanGraphs is a little out of whack with their projection as it has Carson Benge making the team and starting in center field while also using Polanco at the DH spot. I don’t believe this is what the Mets would do if the season was starting today, which fortunately for us it won’t.

How could the lineup conceivably look instead? Using their guide and making some minor changes, this is what we could expect:

1) Francisco Lindor, SS
2) Marcus Semien, 2B
3) Juan Soto, RF
4) Jorge Polanco, 1B
5) Mark Vientos, DH
6) Jeff McNeil, LF
7) Francisco Alvarez, C
8) Brett Baty, 3B
9) Tyrone Taylor, CF

Needless to say, there are going to be more changes coming. Polanco isn’t an ideal number four hitter although the Mets haven’t been shy about putting a guy like Jeff McNeil there in the past. It also wouldn’t make much sense to have Brett Baty this low as he is coming off of one of the most complete offensive seasons of anyone in the bottom part of the order. There isn’t really any perfect lineup to put together at the moment, adding more credence to the idea they’ll need to bring in at least one more notable offensive player.

Polanco is a realistic bat to hit fourth, maybe fifth, in the lineup. The sense should be at the moment Vientos is getting traded. The same goes for McNeil. Even Baty is a possibility although less so.

The Mets offseason, if nothing else, has been full of surprises. It’s both a retool and transitional period for the club. As FanGraphs even noted, Benge is coming to center field and we shouldn’t discount the idea of him hitting higher than ninth. Semien, too, could drop dramatically if he continues to hit the way he did last year.