Mets can still improve their center-field situation via trade

When the Mets re-signed left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year deal in late November, it counted as a big win for their lineup, but it did little to answer questions about a collection of talented outfielders that don’t really fit well together. Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto are all left-handed hitters who profile best in a corner, and Juan Lagares is an excellent defensive center fielder who struggles to hit or stay healthy.

The Mets are trying to alleviate the outfield glut by trading one, likely Bruce, even though teams reportedly prefer Granderson. Assuming they successfully do move one, they’ve said they’d be willing to get by with some combination of Granderson, Conforto and Lagares in center. Bruce isn’t an option there, which is why they’d much rather move him than Granderson.

Maybe that’ll be fine. But is “fine” good enough for a team that’s clearly positioned to battle Washington for the National League East title? Let’s propose a radical idea to help the Mets improve this winter, one that’s unlikely, but not unrealistic: Instead of trading one of their three lefty corner outfielders and shoehorning the others into center, why not trade two, and then go get a true center fielder? Not only that, we’ll make it payroll-neutral, because they’ve said that Cespedes was their big splash and they aren’t likely to spend more.

It’s not as wild as it sounds, because there’s a robust trade market for center fielders right now, one of the few positions where that’s the case. We’ll get to who in a second; first, let’s explain why this is the route the Mets should take.

To start with, the Mets were not a strong defensive team last year. With minus-21 Defensive Runs Saved, they were tied for 21st in the Majors. With Cespedes back in the fold, they’re bringing back basically the exact same roster, except a year older — only Conforto and Travis d’Arnaud, among semi-regulars, will be younger than 31.

Though Granderson has said he’s willing to play center field, as he did late last season, he’ll also be 36 years old in March, and teams simply don’t let players of that age play center regularly. To wit: In the six seasons since 2009, when Mike Cameron did it for Milwaukee, no one age 36 or older has played more than 81 games in center. That’s not a coincidence, as teams get smarter about aging curves and defense. Forget 36, actually; since 2010, only two players older than 33 have played 81 games in center — Andre Torres in 2012 and Coco Crisp in 2014 — each 34 years old.

While it’s true that Granderson looked surprisingly decent in center in 2016 (+1 in …

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