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.

2) Jarred Kelenic

Oh boy, where do we even begin with this one. Jarred Kelenic was once a top Mets prospect, drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and used as the centerpiece to acquire Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano from the Mariners.

We know how the trade has worked for the Mets. Sure, Cano had his issues and Diaz had the awful 2019 season, but the Mets have the best closer in baseball while the Mariners didn't get much in return when all is said and done.

Kelenic did, however, finally look like he could be a MLB regular for the Mariners this past season, hitting 11 home runs and stealing 13 bases in 105 games while also putting up a 109 OPS+. At just 24 years old Kelenic was improving and looking like a future centerpiece for the Mariners, right? RIGHT?

Not exactly. The Braves swooped in early this offseason and acquired Kelenic as part of a salary dump. Atlanta took on the salaries of Marco Gonzales and Evan White and in exchange got to acquire their left fielder of the future for virtually nothing.

Kelenic did not face the Mets once when he was with the Mariners, but with the Braves in the NL East set to duel 13 times annually, fans will get ready to boo a player they were once so excited about. Guillorme won't play much, but Kelenic will get the chance to play early and often for Atlanta. There's every reason to believe he'll be as successful against the Mets as the rest of his teammates are.

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.