Adrian Houser has never averaged a strikeout per inning in his seven-year major league career.
Among 127 pitchers who totaled 100 innings last season, Houser’s 7.76 strikeouts per nine innings ranked 96th.
The righty is the type of pitcher who succeeds by generating ground balls and soft contact, relying upon his defense to do its job.
For Houser to be at his best, those behind him need to be at theirs.
Thus far this offseason, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has appeared to make an emphasis on shoring up the team’s defense — which would help pitchers such as Houser, whom Stearns traded for on Wednesday.
The Mets quietly had one of the worst defenses in baseball last season, which might explain why several of Stearns’ early moves have been for players more known for their glove than bat.
At the onset of the offseason, Stearns cited “run prevention” as a chief goal for this winter.
“Run prevention is certainly starting pitching. It’s relief pitching. It’s defense,” Stearns said during last month’s general managers’ meetings. “I think those will be areas that we’ll pay attention to.”
The biggest defensive addition so far came from the Brewers with Houser in the trade.
Tyrone Taylor is an above-average outfielder who has never made an error in 331 games through a five-year career.
The speedy 29-year-old can play each outfield spot and has registered plus-five Outs Above Average in center field over the past two seasons.
For comparison, the Mets’ best outfielder (and center fielder) Brandon Nimmo has been at an even zero OAA in center over the span.
“Tyrone brings a well-rounded skill set to our outfield grouping and can play all three outfield positions at a high level,” Stearns said in announcing the trade.
It is not yet clear how Taylor will be used — perhaps as a righty-hitting platoon with DJ Stewart; perhaps as insurance for Starling Marte; perhaps as a way to push Nimmo to a corner — but wherever he is, his legs, glove and strong arm will help a defensive unit that has needed help.
During their disastrous 2023 season, the Mets finished with minus-15 Outs Above Average, ranked 23rd of 30 teams.
By FanGraphs’ Defensive Runs Above Average, they graded as 27th best.
Defensive ability is difficult to judge with numbers, but just about all the numbers available pointed to a problem.
Perhaps related: Milwaukee led the majors last season in OAA and Defensive Runs Above Average. The former Brewers boss clearly values defense.
The Mets’ projected infield has not changed much yet under Stearns, who decided to non-tender the non-fielding Daniel Vogelbach and the sure-handed (but not fast) Luis Guillorme.
The infield additions on the 40-man roster, though — Joey Wendle and Zack Short — are both flexible, talented fielders, as are non-roster additions such as José Iglesias and Rylan Bannon, both glove-first players who can move around to different positions.
As Stearns tries to lure Yoshinobu Yamamoto and deepen the Mets’ pitching, it is not just aces he is trying to find to limit the opponents’ scoring chances.
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