4 potential Mets killers added to the NL East rival rosters this offseason

If there's one thing New York Mets fans hate, it's Mets killers. Players who seem to be at the top of their game when they face the Mets more than against any other team.

Paul DeJong has had trouble hitting throughout much of his career, but he has more career home runs against the Mets than he does against the Brewers despite playing most of his career in the NL Central. One of the more popular Met killers in recent years is Daniel Murphy, a former Mets postseason hero who destroyed them every chance he got in Washington. We can even dig a bit deeper and look at Adeiny Hechavarria, a player who was released by the Mets right before he could cash in on a roster bonus and wound up tormenting them with the Braves soon after.

The list of Mets killers is larger than any Mets fan would like to admit, and there's a good chance these four players will be the newest additions after joining the NL East.

1) Luis Guillorme

Non-tendering Luis Guillorme made a lot of sense. While his defensive versatility was always appreciated, he never quite hit enough to have a permanent roster spot and didn't have the speed to make him a very valuable bench piece. While the Joey Wendle signing was underwhelming, he's probably a better all-around player than Guillorme while offering the same versatility.

Mets fans were ready to watch their fan-favorite sign elsewhere and get a chance to potentially play more. Mets fans would've been fine with him going anywhere else, and even would've been fine with him signing with a couple of other teams in the division but the Braves of all teams? Really?

Guillorme signed a one-year deal worth $1.1 million with the Braves to replace the recently-departed Nicky Lopez and Vaughn Grissom as their backup infielder. With Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia, and Ozzie Albies locked in at the positions Guillorme plays the 29-year-old likely won't play much, but we already know he's going to annoy the Mets.

Guillorme will find a way to poke a heartbreaking single through a vacant hole in the infield, perhaps past Joey Wendle, to win a game for Atlanta in New York. He might even make a game-saving defensive play to rob the Mets of a key hit. We know how this works. A Mets fan-favorite putting on the uniform of a rival never ends well. We just have to hope this marriage only lasts the one year and the Braves don't find a way to get him to extend while donating a portion of his contract to their charity.

3) Chris Sale

What do you know, another Atlanta Brave? Part of the reason why this list is dominated by Braves players has to do with the rest of the NL East being relatively inactive, but part of it also has to do with the players the Braves acquired being protypical Mets killers.

Guillorme and Kelenic had a bit of emotion behind them due to their Mets ties, but Sale feels like a Mets killer based on the pitcher he is. A funky left-hander who might not be as overpowering as he once was, but can still pitch well in big games.

Once again, the Mets struggled against left-handed pitching this past season, putting up a 96 WRC+ which was tied for 20th in the majors. While they hit for solid power against left-handed pitching, the Mets ranked 28th in the majors with a .237 batting average and tied for 24th with a .310 OBP. Not good!

While he's battled through injury issues with Boston and was not at the top of his game this past season, Sale in Atlanta feels like the next Charlie Morton. The Braves will inevitably find a way to rejuvenate his career and have him pitch particularly well against the Mets. It's possible that the Mets could own him the way they've owned Spencer Strider, but we'd have to see it to believe it.

4) Joey Gallo

Last offseason, the Washington Nationals signed a player we all knew would wind up killing the Mets in Dom Smith. While Smith did not have a very good season as Washington's primary first baseman, he found a way to hit .293 (nearly 40 points higher than his season average) against his former team. He didn't crush them with home runs like Daniel Murphy, but Smith being a tick below .300 against the Mets while being subpar against everyone else puts him in the realm of being a Mets killer.

This offseason Washington hasn't signed any former Mets (yet) but they did sign a player who instantly felt like a Mets killer, Joey Gallo.

Part of the reason why Gallo feels like a Mets killer, is because he's already crushed the Mets when given the chance to face them. He only had five hits in 27 at-bats against New York but he's hit four home runs with nine RBI, putting up a .970 OPS in ten games against the Mets.

Gallo did not adjust well to the boos from Yankees fans, but he's been fine with boos as a visiting player. Gallo would not have worked as a Met for the same reason he didn't work as a Yankee, but that's not to say he won't crush them. He hit two home runs in three games against the Yankees last season, and is one hot streak away from tormenting the Mets the exact same way. There will be lots of strikeouts with Gallo being the all-or-nothing hitter he is, but it feels like there will also be many back-breaking home runs as well.