We are not here to tell you that Ty France is the second coming of Keith Hernandez. Nobody is buying that jersey. But if you’re still mourning the sight of Pete Alonso in a Baltimore Orioles uniform, it’s time to snap out of it. The Polar Bear took his 264 career Mets home runs and a five-year, $155 million bag to Camden Yards. He’s gone. Now, David Stearns is left playing a high-stakes game of Tetris with a roster that has some serious jagged edges.
The Jorge Polanco signing, albeit expensive, was fine for what it was—a two-year, $40 million band-aid. Polanco is a professional hitter coming off a 26-home run season where he slugged nearly .500 for the Mariners. He’s a switch-hitting asset, sure. But the guy has played exactly one inning at first base in his life. One. Preparing in the cage during the offseason is great, but things get different when a 98-mph heater result in a screaming line drive toward your teeth at the “cold corner.”
The Glove is the Whole Point
The Mets are reportedly sniffing around Ty France because they’ve realized that a “good enough” defense at first base is a recipe for a heart attack. France isn’t a world-beater at the plate anymore. We saw that last year with his 88 OPS+ split between the Twins and Blue Jays. Seven home runs in nearly 500 plate appearances is, frankly, anemic for a corner infielder. But his +7 Fielding Run Value? That’s the gold standard Stearns is chasing.
France finished second in the majors in that category last year, trailing only Matt Olson. He’s a vacuum. When you have a pitching staff now anchored by Freddy Peralta and a deep rotation that depends on efficiency, you cannot have a second baseman learning first base on the fly. You need a guy who can save a throwing error from Francisco Lindor or dig a low one out of the dirt to end an inning.
Navigating the Market Madness
It’s not like the Mets have a clear path here. The Yankees are lurking, and they’re desperate for right-handed depth. They’ve been linked to Paul Goldschmidt, but France is the younger, cheaper pivot if Goldy decides he wants more than a bench role. Chris Cotillo of MassLive has been banging the drum that the market for France is surprisingly “robust”.
If the Mets land him, the vision becomes clear. France handles the glove and punishes lefties—he posted a .795 expected OPS against southpaws last year despite the surface-level struggles. Polanco slides into a rotation at DH or gets his reps against righties where his power actually plays. It’s a platoon, it’s ugly, and it’s a far cry from the days of Pete Alonso moonshots.
Living in the Post-Alonso Reality
This is the new era of Mets baseball. It’s about marginal gains and defensive metrics rather than franchise icons and $300 million ego trips. Is Ty France exciting? No. Will he hit 40 bombs? Not in this lifetime. But he provides the one thing Jorge Polanco can’t guarantee: stability in the field.
Stearns has already overhauled the rotation and brought in Bo Bichette to stabilize the left side of the dirt. Adding France is the final piece of a defensive puzzle that might actually keep the Mets in games when the offense goes cold. It’s a move made with the brain, not the heart. In Queens, that’s usually a safer bet anyway.