So far in this series, I’ve covered the 2023 Mets starting pitchers and infielders. The pitching staff had their issues, but the infielders were all around pretty solid. So we know that the 2023 season was, for lack of better terms, a train wreck. So what went wrong? Let’s take a look at the outfielders for the 2023 season.

2023 Outfield – Who’s in Right?

In 2023 the Mets projected outfield consisted of Mark Canha in left field, Brandon Nimmo in centerfield, and Starling Marte in right field. On the final game of the season, the Mets had an outfield consisting of Tim Locastro in left field, Rafael Ortega in centerfield, an DJ Stewart in right field. Needless to say that was not the plan for the season.

Mark Canha was projected to have 525 plate appearances, and in those plate appearances he was projected to slash .242/.360/.390 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs. Canha in 89 games, before being traded to the Brewers, posted a slash line of .245/.343/.381 with 6 home runs and 29 RBIs, over 303 plate appearances.

In centerfield, Brandon Nimmo was supposed to be the man. Projecting a slash line of .270/.371/.419 with 13 long balls and 58 RBIs in 575 plate appearances. Nimmo was nothing short of consistency in the outfield, playing in 152 games, amassing 682 plate appearances while posting a slash line of .274/.363/.466 with 24 home runs and 68 RBIs.

In right field, number 6, Starling Marte. Projected to have 495 plate appearances while slashing .266/.327/.416 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs, Marte was slated to have a pretty good season. Unfortunately for Marte, that was not the case. Playing in only 86 games and amassing 341 plate appearances, injuries limited Marte to a .248/.301/.324 slash line with just 5 home runs and 28 RBIs.

The 2024 Mets Outfield

Looking ahead to the 2024 season, Brandon Nimmo is going to make the move from centerfield to left field, newly acquired Harrison Bader is going to be taking over centerfield duties, while Starling Marte hopes to bounce back from injuries that plagued his 2023 season.

In his age 31 season, Nimmo is projected to post a slash line of .274/.366/.447with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs over 608 plate appearances. Less pop than the 2023 season, but as the projected lead off hitter, you want Nimmo on base, not hitting bombs all season.

In centerfield, Bader is looking to bounce back to his all star form after a down year last year. Despite his projections, the Mets are hoping that Bader can be the hits and on base man that he has been throughout his career. This year, Bader is project to slash .249/.301/.392 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs, over. 403 plate appearances.

We all know that injuries really plagued Starling Marte during the 2023 campaign. With projections of 421 plate appearances with a slash line of .275/.337/.416 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs, it’s not a terrible line for a 35 year old veteran.

I’m not expecting the world from the Mets outfield this season, but if they can stay healthy and live up to their projections, the production will be much better than the Mets saw in 2023. With the questions behind Bader and Marte the Mets are going to need depth, which we will take a look at in an upcoming article.

By Brian Handzel

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

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