Tyrone Taylor spent most of the year in a familiar role for the Mets: the defense-first outfielder who could be counted on for innings, even if the bat didn’t always follow. He opened the season as the club’s fourth outfielder after the additions of Luis Robert Jr. and Carson Benge, then found himself playing far more than expected when Robert landed on the Injured List at the end of April and Benge got off to a slow start.
The offense never really came around for Taylor in that stretch. Before going on the IL himself at the end of May with a hip flexor strain, he was hitting .186 with 3 home runs, 14 RBIs, and an OPS of .530. But one swing made a season that otherwise went sideways feel a little bigger.
That moment came on May 17 against the Yankees. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Taylor lined a game-tying, three-run homer just inside the left field line.
The Mets finished the job in the 10th when Carson Benge chopped a ball that led to two Yankee infielders colliding, opening the door for the winning run to score. It snapped a run of 96 straight losses when trailing after eight innings, and it stood out as one of the rare Amazin’ Finishes from 2026.
Taylor missed exactly one month before coming back on June 26, the same day Carlos Mendoza was fired. When he returned, the bat woke up in a big way.
Before the Mets dealt him to the Cubs on August 3, he hit .354/.436/.875 with an OPS of 1.311 in 24 games. That hot stretch, along with Clay Holmes’s strong season, helped the Mets land prospect Jefferson Rojas at the trade deadline.
Rojas is now the Mets’ top-ranked prospect in the system and gives the front office something to point toward as it looks ahead.
Taylor kept producing after the trade, too. In 30 games with the Cubs, he hit .351/.390/.500 with one home run and 10 RBIs. Now 32 and a free agent, he could still wind up back in Queens if the Mets decide to bring him back as depth.
If not, his Mets line over three seasons was .236/.289/.388 with an OPS of .677. Even so, he leaves with a memory that will stick: one huge swing in a lost season, and a reputation as a player fans came to appreciate. By his own admission, he loved his time with the Mets and by all accounts was a good dude who will remembered fondly by fans for providing a bright spark in an otherwise dismal season.
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