Eddie Rosario would be a nice addition to the 2022 Mets

The Mets will surely be in the free agent market this offseason, and they are likely to target at least one and maybe two outfielders, depending on whether or not Michael Conforto is retained. Brandon Nimmo was great all season in center, but right and left fields are question marks. Names like Chris Taylor, Starling Marte, and Charlie Blackmon among others have been mentioned as potential targets. There is one player who would have been on no one’s list of Met outfield candidates a few months ago, but who now looks like a very intriguing option.

We are of course talking about Eddie Rosario, 30, who has been pounding the ball for the Braves for the last two months. A year ago the veteran was non-tendered by Minnesota. He then signed with Cleveland, on an $8,000,000 one year contract. He did not produce much for the Indians. The Braves, short of outfielders due to injuries, acquired Rosario at the deadline after slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. went down for the year. After a stint on the IL the Braves slotted Rosario into left field, with stunning results.

In 33 games in the regular season, Rosario was a key contributor down the stretch as the Braves took the NL East. In 106 PA for the Braves, he put up a line of .271/.330/.573 with seven homers. The left-handed hitting slugger became a fixture in left for Atlanta.

It was in the postseason, especially the NLCS, that Rosario really shined. Against the vaunted Dodger pitching staff he had an incredible .560/.607/1.040 line with 3 homers and nine RBI as Atlanta prevailed, four games to two to advance on to the World Series. Needless to say, Rosario won the NLCS MVP, and there can be no doubt that without Rosario, the Braves do not best the Dodgers.

He has been productive in the World Series as well, although not at those NLCS levels.
In the six games he had five hits and four walks. That translated to five runs scored, and with so many close games some of those runs were vital to the ultimate triumph of Atlanta,

Does this arc of his season remind you of a recent Met? A player in his walk year catches fire late in the season and has an other-worldly NLCS over the heavily favored Dodgers. It is a lot like the 2015 version of Daniel Murphy, who wanted to stay with the Mets but was spurned, then went on to have two monster years for Washington.

So Rosario can hit, especially lately. Let’s take a look at his defense, which has been questioned at times. Looking at metrics, he put up a figure of positive two for DRS in 2021. His lifetime DRS total is plus 10. His UZR total for the year is minus 0.2, although his lifetime number is solidly in positive territory. He has made big catches in the postseason. In game two of the NLCS he made a fine running catch of a liner off the bat of Trea Turner. In game four of the World Series he robbed Jose Altuve of an extra base hit with a spectacular backhand grab by the left field wall, a game in which the Braves squeaked by 3-2.

The book on Rosario is that he has power to all fields, but is a streaky hitter. Cleveland.com also notes that he is a player who comes up big in important games, and that he likes being in the spotlight. That sounds like he would be a good fit in New York. He’s also known as a bad ball hitter, he’s capable of driving balls that are out of the strike zone, much like Yogi Berra would do in his prime.

Of course, Rosario may well decide to stay in Atlanta, where he has had so much success. But Acuna Jr. should be back next year, and the Braves can’t keep all their outfielders, with Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, and Joc Peterson all on their postseason roster and all contributing. Since Rosario was traded during the season, a team that signs him will not have to forfeit a draft pick.

The Mets need to bolster their outfield, and they should at least explore the possibility of signing Rosario. The Mets whiffed in 2015 when they did not make a serious bid to retain Murphy, perhaps the story will be different this time.