3 third base scenarios for the Mets next year with Manny Machado off the board

2) NY Mets could sign free agent third baseman Matt Chapman

If it’s power and stellar defense the Mets are seeking, not many third basemen can provide it better than Matt Chapman. There are holes in his game. He strikes out a ton. He doesn’t hit for a particularly high average either. Whatever contract he gets from the Toronto Blue Jays or anyone else will be far less than what the Padres are paying Machado. It’ll be a lot but reasonable.

Chapman has been someone Mets fans have dreamed about in the past. Third base has such a strange history for this franchise. Until Howard Johnson in the late-1980s, there was no sustained success. David Wright helped change the narrative completely. However, since his retirement, the position has been a revolving door of short-term veterans.

Chapman’s weaknesses are too glaring for me to believe he’d be the right fit for the Mets. He’ll cost too much money for what they’ll get out of him.

Signing Chapman only works if the Mets convince themselves this year that Baty cannot improve defensively. He’d take over in left field with Chapman playing Gold Glove defense at the hot corner.

I’d have to pass on this idea. What, if anything, could be out there on the trade market for the Mets to consider?