Mets fans asking for Jorge Soler amid rumors of team's "heavy interest"

Since Hector Gomez dropped the New York Mets rumors of the team having a heavy interest in Jorge Soler at 11:19pm on Thursday night, fans have been eager to learn more about just how weighty the desire to sign him is. No other MLB insiders have connected the Mets to Soler since. This happens to come only days after the alleged final $10 million the team is willing to spend, most likely on bullpen upgrades.

Only having $10 million left to spend takes the Mets out of the sweepstakes for virtually every acceptable DH candidate, but perhaps a fall in asking price from a player like Soler will have them thinking differently. After all, the Teoscar Hernandez deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers has an effect on the market.

There is a difference with Soler, though. He’s coming off of a monster season with the Miami Marlins. Settling for one year with the Mets in a pitcher’s ballpark doesn’t exactly fit the expectation.

Do Mets fans actually want Jorge Soler or do they just want any DH they can get?

If the Mets pass on adding a DH through free agency, we’re probably going to get a lot of DJ Stewart and Mark Vientos. The irony, as many have pointed out, is how much fans have wanted to see Vientos in the past. The difference is the Mets have an opportunity to start with a more proven player. This isn’t midseason where Vientos is smacking home runs with a batting average over .300. The offseason is the opportunity to erase doubts. Vientos should be the alternative, not the answer.

A platoon of Stewart and Vientos may look good on paper only if we do see Stewart continue to mash righties and Vientos find success versus left-handed pitchers. Exhaustion from DH platoons in the recent past should have fans questioning whether that’s a wise plan in the first place, particularly with two players with as little experience as these.

Soler is far from the perfect protection behind Pete Alonso. His 36 home runs and .250/.341/.512 slash line from last season looks good. We all recall him taking advantage of the 2019 baseballs by smashing 48 home runs. What’s not to like?

Soler is a frustrating player at times. He missed half of the 2022 season and batted just .207/.295/.400 in year one with the Marlins after winning a World Series MVP as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He’s close to a pure slugger but with only three seasons in his career of hitting 20+, there seems to be something missing to make him the universally accepted number five hitter the Mets need to sign. One of the more guaranteed free agent DHs to seek out a multi-year deal, he seems like a match against other moves the Mets have made.

Where does this leave them? Justin Turner would probably take a one-year deal. J.D. Martinez should probably aim for a bit more. Then there’s Joc Pederson who, if he’s willing to not ask for much, might be a good match for the Mets with his biggest problem being that he isn’t much of a power hitter compared to these others—not that Turner is going to challenge for 30 home runs.

The Mets need to do something at the DH spot. And with each of the Mets rumors which suggest they will, we should expect a new social media darling fans can flock to, create a whole account about, and tag the owner.