Mets fans should be more concerned about center field

Nobody is talking about the Mets’ center field situation and how it represents a liability for the Mets’ success in 2025. With David Stearns stating early in the offseason that he was comfortable with Tyrone Taylor at the position, and the early trade acquisition of Jose Siri to bolster the position defensively, the case of CF was resolved. Everybody seems to have quickly come to terms with a Siri and Taylor split at the position, and nobody is talking about how that might actually be a problem.

Let’s first take a closer look at Siri, the player Mets fans know the least about.

Siri had a .187 BA in 2024. He carried an OPS+ of 76. His 41.9% whiff rate ranked first in the majors. He had a strikeout rate of 37.9% in 2024, also first in all of Major League Baseball. This should raise all sorts of red flags for the Mets.

Just to help jog the memory of Mets fans, let’s find where Siri fits on the spectrum of bad Mets’ hitters with at least 300 PA from 2024. Francisco Alvarez, who also had a rough year in 2024, hit .237 with a strikeout rate of 28% and an OPS+ of 101. Harrison Bader, who was basically unplayable during the postseason, despite being an elite defender in CF, hit .237 with a 23% strikeout rate and finished with an OPS+ of 86. Jeff McNeil, who every Mets fan seems to want the team to trade because he had a down year at the plate, hit .238 with a 16% strikeout rate and an OPS+ of 97.

If we expand the list to players who didn’t get 300 PA because they were cut or sent down to AAA, you’d see the likes of Brett Baty (171 PA) with a .229 BA, 27% SO rate and an OPS+ of 82, Omar Narvaez (69 PA) with a .154 BA, 18% SO rate and an OPS+ of 9, and DJ Stewart (194 PA) with a .177 BA, 30% SO rate and an OPS+ of 81.

Siri’s 2024 batting numbers would slot him in just above Narvaez in terms of effectiveness. Is that kind of non-competitive at-bats something Mets fans are ready to endure for 162 games?

One could argue that nobody is trying to make a case for Siri on offense, his value to the team comes exclusively on the defensive side of the ball. In 2024, Siri was tied for 4^th in the Majors with a Fielding Run Value of 15 (Statcast’s metric of measurable defensive performance). For context, the top three Mets in Fielding Run Value were Francisco Lindor at 12, Bader at 10, and Taylor at 5. Siri is in the 99^th percentile in OAA and arm strength, according to Baseball Savant, though Bader had comparable numbers in 2024. So, it’s true – Siri is a defense-only player on this team.

My point is this – the Mets had a comparable player to Siri in Bader last year, and when push came to shove, Bader rode the pine throughout the postseason. It’s not because defense doesn’t matter, of course it does, it’s because scoring runs is what wins games, and having players be able to be on base helps the team score runs. Giving up an automatic out every ninth batter is a recipe for losing important games. Can Mets fans stomach watching Siri play with any kind of regularity, when we were so actively calling for the heads of McNeil, Narvaez, and Stewart during their struggles last year?

How many non-competitive Siri strikeouts will be watch before the boos start to rain down at Citi Field?

Now on to Taylor, who is more of a known factor to Mets fans.

Taylor is a career fourth outfielder. He is totally reasonable and desirable in that role, and excelled in 2024 when called upon to fill in for Bader and Marte who struggled with injury, but he's never been a full-time starter. He hit .248 with a 99 OPS+ in 2024, but is well below-average in his career as a batter. Much like Siri, Taylor’s value comes defensively. Taylor is in the 90^th percentile in OAA and arm strength, and showed Mets fans how valuable he could be in the outfield. Having him as a bench player makes the Mets better because he is defensively reliable and passable at the plate, but having him as an everyday player should be a bit more concerning to Mets fans.

After the Mets’ postseason ended, Taylor underwent two off-season surgeries (to repair a hernia and remove bone fragment from his arm). No reporting has come out about whether he will be ready for the start of spring training, though no news may be good news on this front. Assuming he returns to the team in full health, he will likely be above Siri on the depth chart. If he experiences any setbacks, Siri will be the everyday starter in CF until he’s healthy.

The 2025 CF expectations for the Mets are to split time between two very good defensive baseball players, where neither one provides much of anything offensively. It’s hard to imagine going on a deep postseason run with players who aren’t truly a threat to impact the offense.

Taylor is on a one-year deal, and Siri is eligible for arbitration next year. It’s clear this CF pairing is not the future for the Mets, so what is? Much like last year with the one-year deal for Bader and the acquisition of Taylor via trade, it seems Stearns is biding his time while young players like Luisangel Acuna, Drew Gilbert, and Jett Williams gain more experience in the Minor Leagues at CF. Is 2025 the year one of these prospects will ascend to the position? Only time will tell. In the meantime, CF looks to be ripe for the taking.