Despite signing Curtis Granderson to a four-year, $60 million contract this offseason, the New York Mets are still not expected to push past the Atlanta Braves or the Washington Nationals in the National League East.
But while ousting the Braves and Nationals would be far-fetched, third place is a very attainable outcome for the Mets—that is, only if a few scenarios come to fruition.
For instance, the Mets need shortstop Ruben Tejada to be a producer in 2014. And even though Tejada will never be Jose Reyes, the team simply needs the 24-year-old to be league average—not the Mendoza Line hitter he was in 2013.
Read on to see all the scenarios that must go right for the Mets to escape fourth place in the National League East.
All statistics sourced from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs.
OPS+ and bWAR are sourced from Baseball-Reference. wRC+, DRS, UZR/150 and ZiPS/Steamer/Oliver projections from FanGraphs.