There’s a free agent out there who fits the Mets needs quite well. He’s a career .281/.365/.479 hitter. He hits lefty and he plays well defensively at first, second, and third. He only wants a one year deal making him a good stopgap until Dilson Herrera is ready. 

In case you haven’t already guessed, the player is Chase Utley. When you think of potential free agents the Mets would consider, he checks all the boxes:

• Left handed bat
• Versatile
• Good defender 
• High OBP
• Cheap

Unfortunately, you can’t add a player like him to this team, not after this:

Sure, he’s at least close enough to David Wright to have his cell phone number. cell phone number. So maybe there’s a chance things could be smoothed over with the team. However, it never will with the fans. It just would never sit right with them. I will admit a small part of me would be amused by the Mets defending Utley at the suspension appeal hearing because they took the cheap way out. 

Ultimately, Utley would be a nice fit on the Mets in 2016 if he wasn’t Utley. Maybe the Mets can consult with Bobby V to get a disguise to make this happen. Other than that, it looks like it’ll be Herrera next year without a safety net. 

Scratch Utley as a cheap option the Mets could chase.