New York Mets Retain Tyrone Taylor On a One-Year Deal Worth $3.8 Million
The Mets and Tyrone Taylor have agreed to a one-year, $3.8 million contract. This isn’t the splashy headline Mets fans are refreshing their feeds for. But baseball isn’t played on paper, unless you focus on the analytics side of the business. It’s won by the guys who show up on a Tuesday night in July when your starter needs a rest day. It’s won by depth. And that is exactly what Taylor brings to Queens.
Why the Mets Needed To Bring Back Tyrone Taylor
The reality of the situation in Flushing is that center field remains a giant question mark. It’s the unsettled frontier of the roster. By locking in Taylor, the front office buys themselves a little breathing room.
Taylor is the ultimate insurance policy. He’s the guy you call when Plan A has a hamstring issue or Plan B needs a day off against a tough lefty. Acquired from the Brewers back in late 2023, he was brought in to be a stabilizing force. For the most part, he’s done exactly that, even if the ride has been a little bumpy.
Last season, he played in 113 games, starting 87 of them. That is a significant workload for a player often pegged as a “fourth outfielder.” He covered all three outfield spots, logging 106 games in center field alone. That versatility is his currency. In an era where rosters are thin and injuries are inevitable, a guy in his role for a contract under $4 million is a bargain.
Analyzing Taylor’s 2025 Performance Struggles
We have to address the elephant in the room, though. Taylor struggled in 2025. He finished the 2025 campaign with a .223 average and a .598 OPS. For those not obsessed with sabermetrics, let me translate: that is not great. He managed just two home runs and 18 doubles all year. When you compare that to his 2024 production, where he posted a 2.0 WAR, seeing that number dip to 1.0 in 2025 stings a bit.
Taylor battled through slumps and still managed to steal 12 bases, showing he still has the legs to make things happen on the basepaths. But the power outage was real. The Mets are betting $3.8 million that 2025 was an anomaly, not the new normal.
What This Means For Mets Offseason
Does signing Tyrone Taylor preclude the Mets from going big game hunting? Absolutely not. If anything, it sets the floor.
If the Mets go out and acquire a legitimate, everyday center fielder, which they should absolutely still be trying to do, Taylor slots back into the role he is best suited for: a defensive replacement, a pinch-runner, and a guy who starts against left-handed pitching. He has historically mashed lefties, and having that weapon on the bench is a luxury for a manager.
If they strike out on the big names, Taylor is a serviceable, albeit unexciting, stopgap who won’t drown in the deep end. It’s a low-risk move. The Mets aren’t marrying him for the next five years; they’re dating him for one more season to make sure the house doesn’t burn down while they look for a permanent fixture in the outfield. Although they have a lot of work to do when players like Edwin Diaz decline the qualifying offer.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, successful ballclubs need guys like Taylor. They need players who know their role, play hard defense, and don’t complain about playing time. The Mets avoided the headache of arbitration, kept a familiar face in the clubhouse, and ticked a box on the offseason to-do list. Now, they can focus on the big fish to sign Pete Alonso.
