Mets' Offense Storms Late, But Defensive Failures Have Defined Season

As a bottom-three team in the National League, the New York Mets have been poor in several areas in 2026. There have been frustrations at the plate and on the mound, but perhaps the most impactful area has been the poor defense.

It’s made even worse by the fact that New York went into the offseason with plans of improving their defense. After finishing in the bottom third in baseball when it comes to Outs Above Average in 2025, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns wasn’t quiet about his desire to change that for 2026. To put it lightly, that strategy failed miserably.

The Mets are in an even worse position this year, recording -18 OAA with over a month still to play. It is a failure from the Mets’ front office to see them even worse than last season in the field, especially considering the direct intention to improve on it last winter.

The intention was there, but Stearns and New York went about it all wrong. If improving the defense is a priority, signing two new corner infielders, Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco, with virtually zero experience at those positions isn’t the place to start. The addition of Luis Robert Jr. was a step in the right direction, but his injury history was always a concern – and it’s led to only 47 games played for the center fielder this season.

Only one of the bottom 10 teams in terms of OAA is in a postseason position, while every team in the top 10 is either a postseason lock or within striking distance. While it’s not a must, an above-average defense is a good recipe for winning baseball games, and the Mets’ record has paid the price for not having one this year.

When looking at Fielding Run Value, the Mets aren’t quite as bad off, although they still finish below league average with -8 FRV. That number puts them as the No. 20 team in baseball in the category.

New York did have a historic outing last night, throwing out three players at the plate, but let’s not let recency bias cloud the season as a whole. The worst defensive play has come from Mark Vientos at first base (Polanco’s replacement) and Marcus Semien at second (an offseason trade acquisition). Vientos has recorded -9 OAA while Semien has -5 of his own.

When Bichette ends up as your most valuable non-catching defender, there is a problem, but that’s the position the Mets have put themselves in. Of course, I wish I didn’t have to bring this up, but it’s no secret that New York’s defense could be immensely improved with one player they traded away some years ago – Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Contesting with Shohei Ohtani for the NL MVP, Crow-Armstrong’s defense is the best in baseball. His 23 OAA are better than those of 27 teams, and he’s the reason the Chicago Cubs have no competition in the defensive value department.

PCA was traded to Chicago from the Mets back in the 2021 deal that brought Javier Baez to Queens for 47 games. Hindsight is always 20/20, of course, but the Mets could have really used PCA’s defense out in center field this season and last season. Perhaps he would have been the difference between the postseason and no postseason last year. Instead, the Mets will be excluded from October for the second year in a row.