For a brief moment, it looked like Jake Marisnick was going to miss Opening Day. He didn’t play in either game against the Yankees, and he was reported to be dealing with a hamstring issue. Fortunately, it appears as if he will be ready to start the season.

Outfielder Jake Marisnick (left hamstring tightness) is back in intrasquad action today, playing left field. He singled in his first at-bat and looks to be moving normally. Would guess he'll be just fine to make the Mets' Opening Day roster.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 21, 2020

Fact is, the Mets need Marisnick for a few reasons. First and foremost, they need the defense. There’s also the fact the Mets are only carrying three players on their roster capable of playing the outfield on a regular basis.

Marisnick getting hurt would cut that down to two. It would also hinder their ability to play their best defensive lineups to hold onto late leads.

To a certain extent, the Mets do have Ryan Cordell, but there is some debate over whether he’s really a Major League caliber player. There may be some promise with the bat, which has not yet translated, and he has a decent glove. However, he’s not a good enough fielder to carry a weak bat. He’s no Marisnick or Juan Lagares.

Speaking of Lagares, he’s available.

Now, by overall numbers, Lagares had a bad year. He was absolutely miserable in the first half, and you could fairly question whether he was done. He would turn things around.

Starting July 25th, Lagares hit .261/.322/.414 go close out the season. With Lagares’ glove, the Mets (or any team) would absolutely take that level of offensive production. That goes double for a defensive replacement.

With Lagares, he still has it defensively. In 2019, his 5 OAA in center was top 15 in the majors. His Jump was also in the 88th percentile. For the third time in the past four years, he’s outperformed his expected catch rate.

No, Lagares isn’t at his Gold Glove standard. Still, he’s an excellent fielder. He’s also very accustomed to the role of being a defensive replacement. He’s been willing to help this Mets team anyway he could.

More than that, he’s available. With Marisnick dealing with a hamstring, and the depth (or lack thereof) in the outfield shows how much the Mets need another outfielder. They need that player to be a good to very good defensive center fielder.

There aren’t any better options available. Really, given what he offers, you could’ve said the same thing in the offseason. No matter how you look at it, the Mets need depth in the outfield, and they need outfielders who can play well defensively.

Whether it is in Queens, or as part of the taxi squad in Brooklyn, there’s a spot on this roster for Lagares. There’s also a very real need. Overall, no matter how much you look at it, the Mets need to bring back Lagares.