The New York Mets offense still needs some help, and they are reportedly looking for it on the free-agent market.
When reviewing their team on paper, one need that does jump out is the depth in the outfield. To go along with that, there are questions on who the right-handed designated hitter will be as well.
The recent buzz from multiple insiders has suggested that the Mets are looking to address these needs.
New York Mets linked with interest to four outfielders:
Early in the evening last night, Andy Martino of SNY reported that the Mets have shown interest in both Trey Mancini and Adam Duvall.
That was followed up by a report this morning from Michael Mayer of Metsmerized that the Mets have “varying levels of interest” in Mancini and Duvall as well as Jurickson Profar and Andrew McCutchen. Mayer shared that Duvall and Profar are looking to start. Mancini in more of a role as a first baseman, designated hitter. In turn, Mayer suggested that McCutchen might be the best fit for what the Mets are looking for right now.
McCutchen would give the Mets considerable power even with his drop-off last year (17 home runs in 134 games). He could be the Mets’ primary right-handed designated hitter. Also, despite his older age of 36, showed he can play in the outfield part-time (49 OF starts in 2022) with versatility between left and right.
The traits provided to the table from Duvall and Mancini at the plate are quite similar, power. An element the Mets batting order must have more of in 2023.
In Profar, the Mets defensively get tremendous positional flexibility all over the field. He may not present the power the Mets need, but Profar had by far a career-best WAR last year of 3.1 with a .723 OPS.
The Mets could surely use one of these four players at this point in free agency. It is encouraging to hear rumblings that they have an interest in adding one of them. Hopefully, they can get it done to upgrade their outfield depth and right-handed designated hitter.