Mike Tauchman Mets

Mike Tauchman

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Tauchamn is not a name that will move the needle much for the New York Mets, but signing the veteran outfielder to a minor-league deal this week is as smart a move as David Stearns can make this time of year. 

For as much promise as the Mets’ current plan in right field seems, there is just as much uncertainty. Carson Benge, the organization’s No. 2 prospect, is going to have an opportunity to win the starting job. If he should struggle, whether in spring training or with the big club, if he breaks camp with them, the scramble ensues. 

Brett Baty is being tabbed as the next super utility option to replace Jeff McNeil, but he’s a natural infielder, and his professional experience in the outfield is minor league reps in left. Tyrone Taylor is a sure thing defensively in any of the three outfield positions, but his bat cannot be relied on in bulk scenarios, as was evident last season after Jose Siri went down in April. 

Tauchman is a serviceable defensive outfielder who can play all three positions, but played 73 of his 93 games with the Chicago White Sox last season in right field. His left-handed bat can also help keep the bottom of the lineup afloat if necessary. 

The numbers are in no way gaudy, but he has a .359 on-base percentage over the last three seasons, a .740 OPS, and a 108 OPS+, which ranks him at just above average (league-average OPS+ is 100). 

That is exactly what the Mets need, as they learned so harshly last season during their spectacular collapse. Most of the onus understandably was on the nightmarish pitching, but the bottom of New York’s lineup had developed into a black hole. Taylor had a .598 OPS, and Cedric Mullins had a .565 mark in his disastrous 42-game stint in Queens. Luisangel Acuna posted a .567 OPS.

Of the 14 Mets who had at least 100 at-bats, six had on-base percentages under .300, meaning there were limited ducks on the pond when the lineup turned over to the big bats. It’s something that desperately has to change in this new-look lineup, and Tauchman at least becomes an option to do just that.

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