Lack of qualifying offer and more makes Avisail Garcia a real option for the Mets

The New York Mets will be seeking at least one outfielder this winter. The loss of Michael Conforto to free agency and likelihood that he doesn’t return to the club puts them in a position to buy a new right fielder this offseason.

This might not necessarily be the case. They could always go shopping for a center fielder and move Brandon Nimmo over. Or, maybe, they give Khalil Lee a realistic shot to win an outfield job. I don’t think this is the direction they go.

No. I can’t see after all of the declaring the front office has made about the wallet being open that the Mets go completely cheap on us. Although they may not bring in all of the highest-priced free agents, they’re doing to need to land at least one outfielder with some name recognition and talent. That’s where Avisail Garcia comes to mind.

What makes Avisail Garcia a nice fit for the Mets

Garcia was a part of a good yet extremely flawed Milwaukee Brewers club in 2021. The team managed to capture the division despite a lack of offense. They couldn’t put much blame on Garcia. In his second season with the club, the team’s starting right fielder hit .262/.330/.490 and smacked a career-high 29 home runs.

The numbers were kind of what we might expect from Conforto—maybe a higher average and lower OBP. Nonetheless, Garcia appears to be a potential right field option for the Mets.

There are more than numbers to point at to suggest he would fit with what the orange and blue will try to do. Because he didn’t receive a qualifying offer, there’s no loss of a draft pick to sign him.

Huzzah! Someone get him a pen already.

Garcia has spent the last several years playing some unpredictable baseball. In 2017, he was an All-Star for the only time in his career. He would finish the season hitting .330/.380/.506 with 18 home runs and 80 RBI. This was sandwiched between a .245/.307/.385 and .236/.281/.438 campaign.

A bit hard to predict, we can at least look at his career numbers for a greater understanding. In parts of ten seasons, Garcia is a lifetime .270/.325/.431 hitter. He averages 22 home runs and 81 RBI per 162 games.

Now 30, Garcia is going to be in the market for a multi-year deal. It’s not a bad age to be a free agent. It’s not a bad market for him either. Outside of Nick Castellanos, none of the outfielders really fall into the elite class of players. And even Castellanos is flawed thanks to his reputation as a poor defender.

The Mets have a lot of ways they can go in regards to their outfield for next season. The market is flush with intriguing options with up and downsides. Garcia has his own questions. But after last year, should be worth the consideration.