He may be getting older, but New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien is still among the best at his position in this top 10 list.
Missing the playoffs last season left a sour taste in the mouths of the New York Mets, so much so that the roster underwent tons of changes.
President of Baseball Operations David Stearns was so upset about the pitching staff’s collapse over the course of the season as well as the team’s poor defense that he let several fan favorites go in the offseason, either through free agency or via trades.
One of the trades the Mets made to improve defensively was trading beloved left fielder Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Marcus Semien in late November.
The move was a bit of a shock, as Nimmo has been a key offensive contributor pretty much since he debuted in 2016 and especially this past season, slashing .262/.324/.436 with 25 home runs and 92 RBI in 155 games (career-highs).
Nimmo’s kryptonite as a player has always been defense, however, and Stearns’ patience ran low. He isn’t a horrible defender but after another disappointing season, the organization believed it was time to move on and improve in that area.
In comes Semien, one of the best defenders in baseball. He has replaced Jeff McNeil, another fan favorite who was traded to the Athletics to make room for the two-time Gold Glover and three-time All-Star.
The caveat here is that Nimmo is a great offensive player but weak defender while Semien is a great defensive player but losing his touch offensively.
At the ripe age of 35, Semien has seen a dip in his production as a hitter but still provides value with his glove. ESPN’s Buster Olney ranked Semien as the eighth-best second baseman in Major League Baseball.
“He's still a high-end defender and now part of David Stearns's effort to improve the Mets' run prevention, even at age 35,” Olney wrote Friday. “But the Rangers made him available for a trade largely because of the decline in his offense the past two seasons: 126 OPS+ in 2023, 103 OPS+ in 2024 and 97 OPS+ in 2025.”
Semien is only two seasons removed from leading the American League in bWAR (7.7), games played (162), plate appearances (753), at-bats (670), runs (122) and hits (185) en route to a third-place finish in AL Most Valuable Player voting. He was an All-Star and took home the Silver Slugger, slugging 29 homers with 40 doubles and 100 RBI.
Semien was solid in 2024, earning his third All-Star selection but the decline had begun. Last season, he failed to hit 20 or more home runs for the first time since 2018 (excluding COVID-shortened 2020 season when he hit nine in 53 games).
Although the outfield defense didn’t improve with the Semien addition (Juan Soto slides over to left field, also a poor defender), he joins shortstop Francisco Lindor to form a great defensive middle infield duo.