With the rise of Andres Gimenez, the Mets are already moving on in some ways from Amed Rosario. To wit, the are reports Rosario will be moved to a utility role in 2021.

This should come as no surprise as Rosario has been given time to establish himself as the Mets everyday shortstop. Unfortunately, for a myriad of reasons, that hasn’t happened. With a better SS option on the Major League roster, Rosario needs to play somewhere.

Looking at the Mets current roster, there are holes at third and center. Presumably, Rosario could fill either spot.

In terms of third, his continued marked improvement at short with his strong arm suggests he could play very well there. That said, there should be some reservation over his ability to go to his left.

Of course, the bigger issue is his bat. At a career 89 wRC+, including a regression in 2020, his bat won’t play at third.

It would, however, play in center. The bigger issue is whether he can play the position. There are strong indications he can.

In his career, Rosario has exhibited elite sprint speed. Even with his 28.7 ft/second being a career low, he’d still rank in the top 20 among center fielders (if he played the position).

Really, he has the speed to not only play center, but to play the position at a high level. With Luis Rojas, he also has a manager in place who can get him quickly up to speed in center.

Now, the obvious rebuttal is there are better options than Rosario in center. That’s absolutely true. Either George Springer or Jackie Bradley Jr. would be a significant upgrade.

The Mets should absolutely pursue them as well as other options. That said, just because the Mets have significant interest and money to spend doesn’t de facto mean they’ll land either player. For example, the Red Sox also have very deep pockets and are rumored to be interested in Springer.

The Mets may also need or want to allocate their offseason budget towards the pitching staff and catcher. Neither of those areas are going to be cheap to address in free agency.

As such, the Mets need a viable CF alternative plan. Given his skill set and the need to find a position for him, the Mets should be preparing the Rosario in CF contingency plan.

If for no other reason, the Mets should pursue this path for Rosario to make him more versatile and to make him a backup at the position.