For much of the offseason, Carson Benge has seemingly been guaranteed a starting spot in the outfield somewhere. It looked like it might be center field when the Mets were pursuing Kyle Tucker. Then it looked like it was going to be a corner (first left, then right) once Luis Robert was acquired. Sure MJ Melendez was kicking around, but the job was more or less Benge\u2019s to lose.<\/p>\n
Then the Mets signed<\/a> Mike Tauchman to a minor league deal in the middle of February, very late in the offseason. The 35-year-old veteran outfielder promptly displaced Benge in the locker room<\/a> and has mentioned repeatedly<\/a> that the Mets were very clear about the path to the major league roster. Put another way, this sure seems like a minor league deal in name only, a roster manipulation ploy where Tauchman is all but guaranteed to make the major league roster out of camp.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In a vacuum, it\u2019s a very nice little move. Tauchman is coming off a season with a 115 wRC over 385 PA for the White Sox, numbers largely backed by his expected metrics. He\u2019s been an above average hitter each of the last three seasons, posting an OBP over .350 while playing scratch defense in an outfield corner. He\u2019s also not got much of a platoon split, making him a viable option against both righties and lefties. Compared to other similar players (e.g., Mike Yastrzemski with the Braves) it\u2019s an absolute steal, even if he is 35 and could theoretically fall off a cliff at any moment.<\/p>\n Tauchman\u2019s role on the roster is a touch less clear. The Mets do have a pathway to playing time in a corner and at DH in theory, but Brett Baty and the aforementioned Benge figured to be key players in those spots (as do other players like Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio, who are shockingly still on the roster). Maybe Benge hasn\u2019t looked as hot as the team hoped this spring and Tauchman is meant to serve as a hedge there, or even an early season starter. Maybe they wanted another body in the DH picture to allow Baty to function more as a super-sub who isn\u2019t starting every day. Maybe Tauchman is just meant to be a nice bench bat.<\/p>\n