The New York Mets‘ offseason begins in a few days, and the task of president of baseball operations David Stearns will be fixing a team that has missed the playoffs for back-to-back seasons.
As a result, Stearns will have to look at positions to bolster the roster, whether through free agency or trade. Regarding free agency, it isn’t a class with game-changing names, but there are options for potential depth.
Mets on SI’s Mike Phillips issued a couple of potential free agent targets for the team, and one of them is right in their division: Philadelphia Phillies‘ Alec Bohm.
“First base is one of the bigger questions on the Mets’ roster, and they can’t go into next season hoping that the combination of Jared Young, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty and Jorge Polanco can solve it,” Phillips wrote in a Sept. 21 article.
“One good fit here could be Alec Bohm, who is hitting .251 with 15 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .707 OPS in 534 at-bats for the Phillies.”
Since coming to the majors in 2020, Bohm has a batting average of .274 with 891 hits, 85 homers, 482 RBIs, and 394 runs scored in 868 games, per StatMuse.
Alec Bohm Could Be a Platoon Option for Mets
Furthermore, Phillips notes that Bohm would be an excellent platoon player at first base and could give the Mets an option at third base should Bo Bichette opt out of his contract and test the market.
“If the Mets feel like Young can be part of a first base platoon, then Bohm would make sense as a partner since he is very strong against lefties, batting .293 with seven homers, 36 RBIs, and an .828 OPS against them in 179 at-bats,” Phillips added in his article.
“Veteran Paul Goldschmidt could also fill a platoon role with Young, but the Mets would be better served going with someone in his prime as opposed to a Goldschmidt-type towards the end of his career.”
Bo Bichette Urged Not to Opt Out of His Contract
Speaking of Bichette, John Harper of SNY believes the Mets standout should look to opt in, since the infielder might not get $42 million per year over the next two years still left on his contract, per Spotrac.
Bichette could earn more than the $84 million remaining on his current deal, but he would need to sign a longer contract to do so.
“You’ve got the lockout coming,” Harper said in a Sept. 11 video on SNY’s YouTube channel. “You’re not sure what the salary structure is going to look like, if there’s a cap or not. I think that’s part of it too. [Bichette] has been good since the terrible start, but I was looking at it, and he’s not a superstar. He’s a really good offensive player [and] has got an under .800 OPS in the second half, when he’s done most of his best hitting.
“He doesn’t hit for a lot of power [and] he’s been a clutch guy again since the bad start, hitting almost .300 with runners in scoring position. To me, [$84 million] for the next two years; you can go out in the market after that [but] you’re not getting [$42 million] a year anymore. Now you’re getting a longer contract, but I would stick it out for these two years and then maybe take my chance.”
Phillies Veteran Emerges as Potential Free Agent Option for Mets