SCOTTSDALE — Defense, defense, defense. No, this isn’t the start of a popular basketball chant intertwined with rhythmic claps from the crowd. It’s one of Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s targets during this year’s GM Meetings. Advertisement To be sure, defense is certainly a team weakness — the Mets finished with the worst Defensive Runs Saved (-93) in the National League in 2019, good for second-worst in MLB after the Orioles (-105), according to FanGraphs. Improving in that department is not only vital, but it’s a complicated process that involves sifting through organizational shortcomings. But, let’s start with center field. It’s a position Van Wagenen hopes to upgrade before Jacob deGrom takes the mound against the defending champion Nationals on March 26. The caveat is there’s a challenge in finding center fielders when the Mets’ farm system is not exactly teeming with them. "Premium position players that have the ability to play every day are hard to find,” Van Wagenen said. “When you look around the landscape from a player-development standpoint, a free-agent standpoint, or even trade allocation, you have to look a little deeper. So it’s not that easy to find. “I think that's why we find ourselves in a very fortunate position to have this many controllable position players on our roster, but center field is not as easy as just waking up in the morning and finding a solution,” he said. That being said, the Mets GM still feels comfortable with his current center fielder: Brandon Nimmo. If Van Wagenen and the Mets cannot acquire a better defensive option this offseason, they will certainly park Nimmo in the middle of the outfield grass. “I think we saw the athleticism from Brandon at the end of the year when he came back in September, and if we (opened) the season today, he’s our center fielder,” Van Wagenen said. But Nimmo dealt with a neck injury for the majority of the 2019 season and it forced the Mets to get creative with their outfield. J.D. Davis and Dom Smith saw playing time in left field, then Mets fanatics saw how much the team needs a true defensive center fielder with power at the plate, too. Juan Lagares, who won the Gold Glove in his age-25 season, fit half of that criteria. But he was largely ineffective at the plate in 2019 — producing a .213 batting average over 133 games. So the Mets declined his $9.5-million contract option for 2020 and forced Lagares into free agency. Van Wagenen must turn to the market and take a risk with a new outfielder. This year’s crop of true free-agent center fielders offer minimal defensive upgrades, and similar batting lines as Lagares. 35-year-old Jarrod Dyson has the highest WAR (1.3) out of his free-agent class, followed by 29-year-old Billy Hamilton (0.4). Other free-agent center fielders include Mason Williams, Leonys Martin, Austin Jackson and two former Mets in Carlos Gomez and Keon Broxton. So Van Wagenen will have his work cut out for him as he scours
How will the Mets upgrade at center field?
SCOTTSDALE — Defense, defense, defense. No, this isn’t the start of a popular basketball chant intertwined with rhythmic claps from the crowd. It’s one of Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s targets during this year’s GM Meetings. Advertisement To be sure, defense is certainly a team weakness — the Mets finished with the worst Defensive Runs Saved (-93) in the National League in 2019, good for second-worst in MLB after the Orioles (-105), according to FanGraphs. Improving in that department is not only vital, but it’s a complicated process that involves sifting through organizational shortcomings. But, let’s start with center field. It’s a position Van Wagenen hopes to upgrade before Jacob deGrom takes the mound against the defending champion Nationals on March 26. The caveat is there’s a challenge in finding center fielders when the Mets’ farm system is not exactly teeming with them. "Premium position players that have the ability to play every day are hard to find,” Van Wagenen said. “When you look around the landscape from a player-development standpoint, a free-agent standpoint, or even trade allocation, you have to look a little deeper. So it’s not that easy to find. “I think that's why we find ourselves in a very fortunate position to have this many controllable position players on our roster, but center field is not as easy as just waking up in the morning and finding a solution,” he said. That being said, the Mets GM still feels comfortable with his current center fielder: Brandon Nimmo. If Van Wagenen and the Mets cannot acquire a better defensive option this offseason, they will certainly park Nimmo in the middle of the outfield grass. “I think we saw the athleticism from Brandon at the end of the year when he came back in September, and if we (opened) the season today, he’s our center fielder,” Van Wagenen said. But Nimmo dealt with a neck injury for the majority of the 2019 season and it forced the Mets to get creative with their outfield. J.D. Davis and Dom Smith saw playing time in left field, then Mets fanatics saw how much the team needs a true defensive center fielder with power at the plate, too. Juan Lagares, who won the Gold Glove in his age-25 season, fit half of that criteria. But he was largely ineffective at the plate in 2019 — producing a .213 batting average over 133 games. So the Mets declined his $9.5-million contract option for 2020 and forced Lagares into free agency. Van Wagenen must turn to the market and take a risk with a new outfielder. This year’s crop of true free-agent center fielders offer minimal defensive upgrades, and similar batting lines as Lagares. 35-year-old Jarrod Dyson has the highest WAR (1.3) out of his free-agent class, followed by 29-year-old Billy Hamilton (0.4). Other free-agent center fielders include Mason Williams, Leonys Martin, Austin Jackson and two former Mets in Carlos Gomez and Keon Broxton. So Van Wagenen will have his work cut out for him as he scours
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