The Mets’ first-base gamble blew up this season, and the front office has a clear offseason lesson sitting right in front of it.
After losing homegrown star and franchise home-run leader Pete Alonso in free agency, New York tried to patch the spot with a very different kind of bet, giving Jorge Polanco a two-year, $40 million deal. It was a move built with risk attached from the start. Polanco had never played first base before, and his injury history came with plenty of warning signs.
Those warning signs showed up fast. The 33-year-old played only 37 games for the Mets because of left ankle bursitis.
He tried to push through it, eventually returned in a limited DH role, and then underwent season-ending left ankle surgery. When he was on the field, the production never came close to what New York needed, as Polanco hit .148/.201/.230 with two home runs and six RBI.
The result was a season-long carousel at first base. Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Eric Wagaman, Jared Young, and Christopher Morel all took turns there, which only reinforced how unstable the position became for the Mets. That kind of patchwork setup is not something a team can survive for six months, and it is exactly why Ty France should be on New York’s radar in free agency.
France just finished a productive season with the San Diego Padres after signing a minor league deal last offseason. San Diego took a low-risk shot on him, and it paid off in a big way. The 32-year-old hit .295/.363/.502 with a career-high 21 home runs and 72 RBI, and he led the Padres with an .865 OPS.
That kind of season mattered even more because the Padres needed it early. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado both got off to rough starts, and France helped steady the lineup while they sorted things out.
His numbers were strong across the board, but what stands out for the Mets is how complete the profile was. He hit .288 in 118 at-bats against lefties and .298 in 322 at-bats against righties.
He also delivered in the situations that have haunted New York for years. France batted .292 with runners in scoring position, while posting a .491 slugging percentage and an .857 OPS. The Mets, meanwhile, hit just .239 with runners in scoring position this season.
There’s also value on the defensive side. France made three errors during the regular season and was named a Gold Glove finalist for the second straight year after winning the award last season with the Toronto Blue Jays.
France wasn’t the only reason San Diego reached the postseason for a third straight year, but he was clearly part of what made the season work. For the Mets, the bigger point is simpler: they cannot afford another year of rotating bodies through first base.
There are plenty of holes to fill on this roster, but first base has already been exposed as a problem. France looks like the kind of offseason addition that could help fix it.
In Other News...
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Mets Could Revisit A Surprising Deadline Decision This Offseason
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Freddy Peralta is one of the more interesting cases because of how things have lined up since the deadline, and Steve Cohens presence at an ALCS game he started only added to the sense that the door is not fully closed. Robert, Peterson, Minter and Peralta all carry different contract and performance angles, which means the Mets could end up revisiting one of the more surprising deadline decisions if the market and their own roster needs point them back in that direction. [Read more 🡒]