Tyrone Taylor helping stabilize New York Mets’ biggest hole

The Mets saw Taylor jump-start their rally in the ninth inning on Monday with a leadoff double, allowing him to eventually come around and score the winning run on a sacrifice fly from Francisco Lindor. Taylor has also showed off his defensive chops all season long and made a key play early in Sunday night's win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, throwing out a run at the plate to keep the Mets' deficit at one run.

Defense has long been Taylor's calling card, which is why David Stearns traded for him after coming over from Milwaukee at the end of 2023. The fact that Taylor is also hitting increases his value at a position where the Mets don't really have an immediate option, making it easier for Carlos Mendoza to prioritize defense up the middle since he isn't sacrificing much offensively in his lineup.

Winning teams do have plenty of stars but they also frequently get contributions from players like Taylor, who has already produced 1.0 bWAR in 47 games, putting him right on pace to match or exceed last years 2.0 bWAR pace. While Taylor's overall offensive numbers don't look gaudy (.250 batting average/1 home run/8 RBI), he contributes strong speed and defense while doing the right fundamental things, making him the kind of winning player to help keep the Mets humming in 2025.