Steve Cohen is closer to his casino dream, 3 biggest gambles the NY Mets can make

Position Player: Adolis Garcia to become the new right fielder

There aren’t too many scenarios that make a whole lot of sense for the Mets to keep Juan Soto in right field. He was one of the worst defensive players in the league and a move to left field makes way too much sense. Someone the Mets could gamble on to become their next right fielder is Adolis Garcia. Sure to accept a limited deal after being non-tendered by the Texas Rangers, he’s an intriguing power-hitting and clutch postseason player who has a Gold Glove in his recent past.

The Rangers didn’t just non-tender Garcia to get out from under his contract. He hasn’t performed up to his past standards these last two years. Consecutive years of an OPS below .700 with fading power and some questionable defensive abilities, it would be a huge gamble to make Garcia one of the Mets’ outfield solutions in the absence of Brandon Nimmo.

Contractually, Garcia might fit in well with the Mets for their long-term plans. A one, maybe two-year deal at the most, is all he’ll get. With the Mets having Carson Benge, Jett Williams, and other young outfielders approaching their MLB debut but possibly not yet ready, Garcia is a nice placeholder to try to cash in on as a buy-low option.

There has yet to be any actual rumor connecting the Mets to Garcia and for good reason. There are other ball clubs who have a greater need. But if run prevention is a main goal of the Mets and they want to add multiple bats, signing Garcia to a modest one-year deal can help improve the lineup and allow them to make an additional move by either adding a center fielder, first baseman, or possibly a DH.