He would make a good versatile bench piece for the Mets.
The Mets have a handful of bench spots left to fill this season, with both starters and bench players leaving in free agency and gaps opening on the team’s roster. The Mets could benefit from finding flexible players that could fill several spots, utility players who can also provide handy bats off the bench. And former Mets outfielder Mark Canha might be a well-suited player for such a role.
Canha was primarily an outfielder during his time in New York, but before and after he was more of a utility player, playing all three outfield spots and both corner infield positions. The Mets could use that type of player more than most, with multiple outfielders with somewhat spotty health records, a question mark at first base, and a third baseman who may move to a new position depending on what happens with first base. Canha would be able to help fill any gaps that could happen as these problems arise.
Over his career, Canha has hit .249/349/.346, with a 115 wRC+ and 15.6 fWAR in ten major league seasons. He’s never been much of a power hitter, with only 120 home runs over his career, but he has a knack at getting hit by pitches, as he had the third-most of active players. He also doesn’t strike out often, with only a 20.5% strikeout rate.
Last year, Canha split the year between the Detroit Tigers and the San Francisco Giants. He hit .242/.344/.346 with a 102 wRC+ and was worth 1.0 fWAR. He had a slightly better wRC+ in San Francisco (108 with the Giants as opposed to 101 with the Tigers), but he was worth slightly more wins in Detroit, accumulating 0.8 of his 2024 fWAR with the Tigers. Overall, he was a slightly above-average hitter who could play all over the place.
That ability to play multiple positions is what makes up a lot of his utility, and if he takes a more bench role this year, it could make him a highly sought-out player. He was worth 2 OAA this year, and positionally he was okay anywhere they played him. He was worth 1 OAA in left field, -1 OAA in right field, and 2 OAA at first base. He hasn’t played much third base in his career, but when he’s been there he’s been fine, with -1 OAA over 27 career innings at the position. Overall he’s accumulated -8 OAA in his career, but given how much he can play all over, he’s not so bad anywhere that he wouldn’t be a fine bench replacement.
Canha is 36 years old and might start transitioning to more of a bench role as he gets closer to the end of his career. If he’s willing to do that this season, he could be a perfect choice for the Mets to provide some nice depth on their bench. He may look to start elsewhere, but if not, a reunion with the Mets might make perfect sense for both sides.