If the Mets did not miss out on Kyle Tucker last offseason, I don’t think the Mets would really be having this conversation about who will play right field this season. We have reached March, and now it is up for discussion about who will suit up for the team on opening day. There are a lot of options, but nothing is concrete; many of the choices are waiver pickups, minor league signings, or prospects. Spring training has become less of a battle to win and more of a preparation to see what the Mets have in store for right field. In this article, I will go over the five possible outfielders that will slot in next to Luis Robert and Juan Soto in the outfield and who may be designated for the minors. Even if one of these great players gets the call, that doesn’t mean that none of these guys listed below will see major league playing time at some point in the season.

1. Tyrone Taylor

Taylor has been with the club since 2023 and has always been a really great glove to count on in centerfield, but now with the addition of Luis Robert Jr. this offseason, it puts Taylor’s position in peril as he now has to earn the starting role again, this time for right field. His glove is too great to put away in the minors, so regardless, he will find time in the majors. However, he has done more than enough to showcase his talents offensively and prove to Mets fans he is more than a glove-first outfielder.

In just 5 games, Taylor boosted his power with 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 RBIs, and 2 home runs, while only striking out twice for a batting average of .273 and a triple slash-line of .273/.818/1.091. He has made his mark in the small sample and shows to be a key contributor for the Mets.

2. MJ Melendez

MJ Melendez is next up on the list of possible options to slot into right field. Melendez was signed by the Mets early in January to a 1 year, $1.5 million dollar deal with $500,000 in incentives. Out of all the options listed here, Melendez is the only player to merit a guaranteed major league contract. The other players listed below are only on minor league deals with invitation with a chance to crack the roster. Melendez is this year’s Jose Siri, a cheap one-year contract for a decent outfield bat; he is slightly worse than the production Siri had in his past, but with three consecutive seasons of 15+ home runs, there was a lot of high-end promise the Mets front office saw in him to take him on a $1.5 million deal for a year.

Although struggling last year and barely staying healthy for the Royals, he only played in 23 games and had only 1 single home run in that time and 5 hits and 5 runs while hitting to an ugly .083 clip with a slash line of .154/.167/.321 for an OPS+ 90% worse than league average at -10 OPS+. With those numbers, it is an immediate cut, but knowing that Melendez dealt with injury, the Mets figured a flyer wouldn’t hurt on the once high-end catching and outfield prospect to make some noise for their club.

This spring has really put things in perspective for Melendez who in 11 at bats, has a batting average of .364 while driving in 5 RBIs, 2 of which came from home runs, as well as 2 runs and 4 hits with a slash line of .364/.1.000/1.364. Although he did receive a major league offer that is only based on if Carson Benge is not ready yet and can still be sent down for assignment to triple AAA. Although his bat has looked strong he can still land a position on the bench if it leads in that direction.

3. Cristian Pache

Chrustian Pache signed a minor league deal with the Mets this offseason. after bouncing around 5 differet clubs Pache hope to stick with the Mets for atkeast majoirty of the year. Pache is tied on the spring training leaderboard with 8 hits and jas a remarkable batting average of .727 while slashing .727/.750/.1.182 and an OPS at 1.932. In 11 at bats this spring, Pache has 8 hits, 1 home run, 2 RBI and 2 Runs. he is nhaving a grearr sprinf training by all metrics and even has a great glove. lets see if he can keep this up for the reminader of spring and hopefully make the big league roster.

4. Mike Tauchman

The most shocking minor league move of all for the Mets is Mike Tauchman, who contemplated signing a minor league deal this season after posting a 2.0 WAR season and 112 OPS+ for the White Sox last season. However, with the apparent lockout next season, he took his chances on a minor league deal, hoping to make the roster and also continued his career by taking on the opportunity with the Mets. Last season for the White Sox, Tauchman had 88 hits, 9 home runs, 44 runs, and 40 RBIs for a slash line of .263/.356/.400/.756 for an OPS+ 12% better than league average.

He is a good journeyman, bouncing from the Rockies to the Cubs to the Giants to the Yankees and now the Mets. His concern is staying healthy, but he has shown in the past that with enough games, he can be an incredible bat in the lineup. For the spring with the Mets, he has a .286 batting average and slashed .444/.857/1.301 with 1 run, 2 hits in 7 at-bats, 1 home run, and 3 RBI. It is not the best; there are better, but he has shown in recent past his ability to produce both in the field and at the plate.

5. Carson Benge

As for the highly touted number one hitting prospect for the Mets, he has done his part in making his statement to join the clubhouse as the season begins. He is the number one guy the Mets want up, but if they don’t think he is ready, they have more than enough talent to supplement the roster as they wait. However, in 4 games for the 2026 Mets, Carson Benge has produced a slash line of .400/.455/.400/.855 for batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS.

He has taken advantage of his small playing sample; with just 11 plate appearances, he has 2 runs, 4 hits, and one stolen base. He is great so far and knows what is at stake if he does not perform well this spring. The Mets need to see if he has it and if he can take the next step in his professional career.

Overall, I am super pumped to see what the Mets are going to do with these five outfield players. The Mets can realistically bring up two of these five players, one to start and one for the bench and backup. If Benge is not ready then it is most likely going to be a combination of Tauchman or Melendez with Tyrone Taylor.

However, this is also such a small sample too of less than 5 games for each player and with spring training being the time when the front office can truly evaluate all the players they have at camp. It can be hard sometimes to really get more of a view of a certain player when realistically these guys don’t play more than 3-4 innings a game. Regardless, it doesn’t matter who comes up with the Mets to start the season because I know all these guys will make major impacts this season sometime.