The New York Mets finally found their centerfielder. Well sort of. As announced first by Ken Rosenthal, the Mets are in agreement with Albert Almorapending a physical. The terms of the contract have not yet been announced.
The Mets have found their center fielder. They are in agreement with free agent Albert Almora Jr. , pending a physical, sources tell me and @ByMcCullough
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 7, 2021
Big Name Centerfielder
This has to be a big pill to swallow for the Mets fan base. At the beginning of the offseason, all eyes were on George Springer. Springer ultimately signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for six years and 150 million dollars. The Mets were not willing to match or better the offer from the Blue Jays. Or perhaps Springer did not want to play in New York.
Then the attention turned to the secondary market for centerfielders. Jackie Bradley Jr. was reportedly asking for a high amount of dollars and years. This did not appeal to the Mets. Enrique Hernandez who was a target of former Mets GM Jared Porter signed with the Boston Red Sox. Joc Pederson was also available but he signed with the Chicago Cubs. Kevin Pillar was another established free agent centerfielder on the market. The Mets did not show much interest in him. The rest of the available players were either fourth outfielders or players the Mets already had like Jake Marisnick and Billy Hamilton.
What Almora Brings
Make no mistake about it Albert Almora is not an everyday centerfielder. Almora will be 27 years old when the season starts so he is still young. But he is not much of an offensive player. His career slash line is .271/,309/.398. Simply put he does not bring anything to the table from an offensive standpoint. He does bring depth to centerfield which is something the Mets don’t have.
Barring another transaction in the offseason, this cements Brandon Nimmo as the everyday centerfielder and without the designated hitter Dominic Smith will be the left fielder. Nimmo had a subpar 2020 defensively and Smith is not an outfielder in any sense of the word. The best thing for the Mets would be for the National League to adopt the designated hitter for the 2021 season taking the glove out of the hand of Smith. Almora could play center field every day and the Mets would be better without two automatic outs at the bottom of the lineup.
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