3 free agent center fielders the Mets can look at if improving the defense is paramount

2) Michael A. Taylor

A guy the Mets have actually been rumored to have interest in, Michael A. Taylor has only one Gold Glove. This shouldn’t eliminate him from contention as a Mets center field option. Since leaving the Washington Nationals after the 2020 season, he has been a much more productive player and one of the best fielders at the position in the American League.

Consistency isn’t what you’d expect from Taylor. His past three seasons have included batting averages of .244, .254, and .220. Meanwhile, the home runs have gone from 12, to 9, and finally to a career-high 21 with the Minnesota Twins last year. He’s a lifetime .239/.294/.389 hitter which is a bit below Kiermaier. Where Taylor has an advantage is health. He has been available for much of his career. He has 5 seasons of 120 games or more plus another with 118 played.

Taylor is a smaller budget center field target for the Mets to sign. He has never made more than $4.5 million in any single season of his career. About this amount or maybe slightly more should do the trick.