3 types of players the Mets should avoid adding this offseason

The DH who doesn't own a glove

Daniel Vogelbach never played a single inning in the field for the Mets. Never. Not once. He must not even own a glove.

The idea of a DH who only hits (there is some irony there in Vogelbach’s case) doesn’t seem so palatable anymore. It feels like such a waste of a roster spot when the guy goes cold and can’t even give you innings in the field as a defender.

This is something the Mets need to avoid. Shohei Ohtani is excluded from the conversation because signing him is hoping he’ll be able to pitch in 2024. The DH exclusive players in the league right now are pretty limited with J.D. Martinez as probably the only player you could make a serious case for the Mets to actually sign. Preferably, they stay away.

An opinion I’m not willing to budge on is the concept of carrying a player on the roster that doesn’t actually play the field. The situation needs to be nearly perfect for a team to afford to have a traditionally untraditional DH-only player. The Mets cannot afford to have someone like this. There are far too many other questions with the offense.

Selecting the right choice(s) to take on those DH at-bats isn’t easy. The Mets may end up choosing wisely and still suffer at the hands of an injury, unexpected underperformance, or other problem. The only way to get it wrong from the start is to commit to a player incapable of offering enough to the overall game.