Mets free agency: Mets will consider Adam Lind at first base

The Mets are not satisfied with Dominic Smith as the full-time first baseman for the 2018 season. New York has been looking for a more experienced player to supplement the position, and one of the front office’s targets appears to be Adam Lind, the left-handed slugger who has played with a different team in each of the last four seasons.

Buster Olney tweeted on Monday that the Mets will consider Lind, and if last season was any indication, he’s still got what it takes to be a productive part-time slugger. In 301 plate appearances with Washington, the journeyman hit .303/.362/.513 with a 16-percent strikeout rate and 14 home runs.

That’s not a bad pace for someone who seems to be readily available on the free agent market, but there is a catch. Lind has never hit left-handed pitchers well, with a career 56 wRC+ against them. That raises questions about his fit for the Mets, who last season saw Smith hit all nine of his home runs against right-handed pitching while striking out in 35 percent of his plate appearances against southpaws.

We’re looking at a small sample size for Smith, but it’s not crazy to project that a young left-handed power hitter might have trouble hitting against lefties early in his career. So even if the Mets add Lind, there will still be a hole in the lineup when they oppose left-handed pitching. However, Lind is an affordable way to add depth to an offense that had a lot of talent get hurt or change teams in 2017.

It’s worth noting that Lind did play some outfield for Washington last year, adding to his versatility. Before that, he hadn’t played outfield since 2010.