What could Mets' lineup be with Soto? Here's 4 options

DALLAS -- The ink has not yet dried on Juan Soto’s record 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, which is still unofficial. When Soto does slip on his jersey, he’ll join an offense that ranked seventh in the Majors last season in runs per game, and fourth in MLB from May 29 through the end of the year. It’s a good offense. Soto makes it better.

While it’s still not clear how the Mets might supplement this unit (and they will), it’s not too early to project how their lineup might play out in various scenarios. Such as:

If the Mets do nothing else

This, quite frankly, is an unrealistic option. The Mets don’t have a first baseman on their roster right now and will need to acquire a corner infielder one way or the other. But for the sake of this exercise, the lineup currently looks something like this:

Soto batted second regularly for the Yankees last season and has slotted into that position more often than not throughout his seven-year career. Considering the success Lindor had at leadoff, it doesn’t seem likely manager Carlos Mendoza will move him from that perch. That puts added importance on Vientos, a right-handed hitter who is potent enough to bat third if he continues playing like he did last season.

Baty is unlikely to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster, but for the time being, he’s their most realistic in-house option … unless they shift McNeil to third and play No. 12 prospect Luisangel Acuña at second. Unlikely. A simpler solution would be bringing back someone like Jose Iglesias to man the hot corner, but the Mets may want to shoot higher than that.

If the Mets re-sign Pete Alonso

The return of Alonso would certainly make this lineup deeper and give Mendoza far more lineup flexibility. One option with Alonso looks like this:

This would be a right-handed-heavy bottom of the order, with only McNeil spacing things out. Given that Alonso and the best alternative free-agent option, Christian Walker, are both righties, such a scenario could be unavoidable. (The best lefty-hitting first baseman on the market, Carlos Santana, is a switch-hitter who will soon be 39 years old and who also hits better from the right side. He’s an option, but perhaps not an ideal one.)

For all those reasons, the Mets may skew a bit right-handed next season. Unless …

If the Mets sign a left-handed DH

Joc Pederson is the splashiest option here, though a Jesse Winker return makes sense as well. It would be an aggressive move, pushing Marte into a part-time role, but an option that would add both thump and balance to the Mets’ lineup. President of baseball operations David Stearns loves what he calls “redundancies” on his roster, or multiple options at the same position. In this world, Mendoza’s lineup card would look a little something like this:

All the usual caveats apply, such as signing a full-time third baseman or using Acuña in some fashion. But why play this either/or game? These are Steve Cohen’s Mets, who have proven they’re willing to go all in. So what if they signed Alonso and Pederson? Now that would be one formidable lineup:

If the Mets sign a right-handed first baseman and a left-handed DH

The Mets could flip Alonso and Vientos on this card based on who’s hitting well. They could also flip Pederson and McNeil or Alvarez and Taylor. Against lefties, they’d have Marte available to fill in at DH or give one of their outfielders a breather. And Jose Siri would be a defensive-minded option off the bench, as Harrison Bader was last season.

Much will depend upon how the rest of the offseason unfolds, but what’s clear right now is that the Mets have options -- and even if they don’t make another move, their Opening Day lineup should be solid.