The word around town is that the New York Mets are moving on from Pete Alonso, as while the slugger hasn’t decided on a new team, David Stearns has immediately conducted his Plan B. With the signings of Jesse Winker and A.J. Minter this past week, the Mets have made it clear that they’re not interested in waiting around for their former first-round pick to meet their price in negotiations, but that’s a big bat they’ll have to replace with either internal options or an outside acquisition.
After a breakout season with the San Diego Padres last season, outfielder Jurickson Profar could be the perfect addition for a Mets’ offense in need of some firepower, as his plate discipline and improved power could be perfect for their lineup.
Jurickson Profar Could Give the Mets a Dominant Offense
Last season was a great one for Jurickson Profar, who set career-bests in HRs (24), wRC+ (139), and WAR (4.3) as he was one of the most important pieces in the Padres’ offense. Not only was his raw production excellent, but he was also clutch, finishing fourth in Win Probability Added (+5.10) and posting a .955 OPS with runners in scoring position. He was seventh in the league in OBP as he worked 76 walks, doing so while striking out just 15.1% of the time.
Perhaps the biggest jump that Jurickson Profar made last year came in the power department, as he improved his exit velocity from 86.5 MPH the year prior to 91.1 MPH, swinging the bat a bit harder and doing more damage on contact, which would certainly appeal to the Mets. It didn’t come with an inflated strikeout rate either, an encouraging sign that he maintained his excellent barrel control and feel for contact while driving the ball out of the yard.
While the Mets’ outfield seems full with Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, Starling Marte, and Jesse Winker, they could shuffle Profar out of the outfield and into the infield.
Jurickson Profar has -18 DRS and -20 OAA in the outfield over the past two seasons, but in 466 career innings at first base, he has +1 DRS and +2 OAA, indicating he could be a strong option at first base. It’s a bit of a risk, but given how brutal their corner infield defense was with Mark Vientos at third and Pete Alonso at first, this may not be out of the realm of possibilities for the Mets.
The only problem that arises here is shuffling Vientos back to third, where he’s not unplayable but certainly is below-average defensively, which goes against David Stearns’ team-building philosophy. If they do view Profar as a capable defender at first base, then maybe that issue isn’t as important to them, as three of their four infield defenders would be above-average with Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil in particular being strong defenders up the middle.
Without a Qualifying Offer attached to him, Jurickson Profar isn’t going to cost the Mets a single compensation pick, and that gives them free rein to sign him without any other cost outside of money. Finances won’t be a problem for a Steve Cohen team, and with a projected 116 wRC+ according to Steamer, he would only elevate a strong New York offense that just added one of the best hitters on the planet.