Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 smaller roster decisions paying off early

2) Acquiring Tyrone Taylor in a trade to be more than your typical fourth outfielder

Love this move. Adding Tyrone Taylor in a trade as “the other guy” in the deal with the Milwaukee Brewers was brilliant. The trade seemed to, for most, be more about getting an affordable starting pitcher onto the Mets staff. Adrian Houser seemed like a more than capable fifth starter. He hasn’t shown enough since coming to New York. Taylor, on the other hand, has been used perfectly.

Taylor always should have been more than a typical fourth or fifth outfielder for the Mets. By boldly putting him in the middle of the order early on in 2024 against left-handed pitchers, the Mets made a statement that they believe in this guy. He has rewarded them with frequent hits, his usual brand of quality defense, and a pair of legs with a pair of wheels on the ankle.

One way to describe Taylor could be “toolsy” except he’s much more than a guy with a great glove, speed, or power. He has a little bit of everything. Unable to fully showcase this with Milwaukee, the Brewers haphazardly chose to deal him away this offseason likely due to his lack of minor league options and their abundance of outfielders on the depth chart. No worries. We’ll take care of him.

The best part of it all is that Taylor is under team control for a few more years. The Brewers don’t burn out too much service time with him and now the Mets can benefit.

We should, of course, expect Taylor’s numbers to come back down as the season progresses. The important thing will be to still regularly mix him into the rotation even when J.D. Martinez is back. Taylor seems to do best when playing often. A day of rest for some of the regulars and some pinch hitting opportunities for Taylor throughout the year is a way to continue this.

3) Not dumping any bad contracts in the offseason

The Mets had two bad contracts fans were eager to dump this offseason. They held onto each and for good reason.

First, we have the two years and over $40 million owed to Starling Marte. The Mets right fielder had an incredibly disappointing 2023 campaign. Only 13 extra-base hits in his 86 games, he was a shell of the player he was a year earlier when he was an All-Star for the club.

Less costly yet a far worse player, the Mets were stuck with another year of Omar Narvaez. It was a no-brainer for the veteran backstop to opt into his $7 million for 2024. He missed a large portion of the 2023 season and when he did return his starting job had been usurped by Francisco Alvarez.

Whether out of belief in a bounce back season or a lack of interest from other ball clubs—probably both—the pair remained in New York. We’re already seeing the benefits of it.

Marte has gotten off to a strong start and looks much more like the 2022 version. His multiple injuries from last year surely seem to be the cause. There wasn’t so much as a hint of the Mets moving on from him over the offseason. How could they? His hefty contract and poor results in 2023 had him in the doghouse.

Narvaez’s return has been far less special, but with Alvarez already going onto the IL, we can justify having him around. The upside of what he can do on offense is far greater than any of the other options. His defense has been atrocious. Still, as something more than an automatic out, the Mets can at least choose to have a capable big league hitter in the lineup should they choose. Otherwise, we’d be staring at a situation with Tomas Nido and someone like Austin Allen sharing catching duties for weeks.