The return of Francisco Alvarez and the subtraction of Starling Marte has made a world of difference for the Mets’ defense. Alvarez replaced bad defenders, while Tyrone Taylor has been a massive upgrade in the outfield. Here are the numbers:
The Mets currently rank 25th in the majors with -13 Defensive Runs Saved. They haven’t gotten positive value at any defensive position over the entire season.
But to leave it at that would be incredibly misleading because they’re currently on an amazing run. It’s one in which their defense has played a huge part.
As bad as their -13 looks right now, that’s nothing compared to how entering June they were at -34 Runs Saved, which ranked next-to-last in MLB. After a dreadful start to the season, the Mets are 32-15 in their last 47 games. Since June 1 they’ve totaled 21 Runs Saved, 4th-most in MLB in that time.
Team Runs Saved Guardians 38 Brewers 30 Royals 26 Mets 21 Blue Jays 16 Braves 15 Diamondbacks 15 Red Sox 12 Rangers 10 Astros 9
Source: Mark Simon, SIS Stat of the Week