Outfielders
In
Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce, Juan Lagares, Michael Conforto
Out
Brandon Nimmo, Alejandro De Aza
The starters in the outfield are pretty easy to figure out: Cespedes, Granderson, and Bruce. But the bench, however, may be the hardest part of this roster to figure out.
Assuming he is back to full health, Lagares should be on the roster. At the very least he can provide a pinch runner and defensive replacement late in games.
Lagares is also the only other right-handed outfielder the Mets have — unless you count Ty Kelly.
The fifth spot in the Mets outfield was very hard to decide. Both Alejandro De Aza and Michael Conforto have struggled this season, so one is not a clear-cut better choice than the other.
Ultimately, Conforto was chosen. Over his past three games, Conforto is 3-9 at the plate, showing the signs that his bat could finally be coming around.
If he can keep putting in solid performances throughout September, Scooter will undoubtedly find himself on this roster.
The other factor in the decision was while De Aza may be a more versatile fielder, Conforto’s ceiling at the plate is not even close to De Aza. If the Mets are going to carry one of them, they should choose the bigger threat.
In the Wild Card game, Terry could carry De Aza or, say, Brandon Nimmo to be used situationally at the plate or on the bases. Not having to activate other starting pitchers gives managers more options off the bench, eventually benefiting them when making strategical decisions.
