Mets have checked in on A.J. Pollock

The Mets have checked in on free agent center fielder A.J. Pollock, according to a report from Jim Bowden. And Bowden adds that Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Pollock “was a good fit for [the Mets], and they will continue their pursuit.”

When he was on the field in 2018, Pollock was good. He hit .257/.316/.484 with 21 home runs, 13 stolen bases, and a 110 wRC+. The downside is that he only racked up 460 plate appearances and played in just 113 games—and he had a nearly-identical amount of playing time in 2017—because of injuries. In 2016, Pollock appeared in just 12 games, and his stellar 2015 season seems like the outlier in his career at the moment, as he played in 157 games, hit 20 home runs, stole 39 bases, had a 131 wRC+, and totaled 6.8 fWAR.

Having just turned 31 years old, Pollock certainly isn’t without his flaws, but he plays center field and has shown flashes—and some sustained stretches—of the relatively rare combination of speed and power. He’s reportedly seeking a five-year, $80 million contract, per Bob Nightengale, and the crowdsourced free agency projections at FanGraphs average out at about four years at $16 million per year.