Surprising position move could help former Royals outfielder get back to majors

The Kansas City Royals have enjoyed their fair share of superb center fielders. Amos Otis, Willie Wilson, new Hall of Famer Carlos Beltrán, Lorenzo Cain, and now Kyle Isbel, have all made positive marks in the club's outfield.

One player with considerable experience in the Kansas City outfield will not, however, be remembered for anything he did in center. From the time MJ Melendez broke in with the Royals in 2022 through his final game with the club last season — he and the Royals parted ways in November — he appeared in left field 218 times and in right 97 more, but never played center.

Now, though, it seems Melendez, who recently signed a split contract with the Mets and joined them in spring training, may find his way into center for the first time — New York Post writer Mike Puma reports that Melendez played the position in winter ball (more on that momentarily). Proving he can work that spot serviceably could, and probably will, enhance his chances to be on the Mets' roster when they open the season against Pittsburgh on March 26.

Surprise move may get former Royals outfielder MJ Melendez back to the majors

That Melendez is trying to learn a new position isn't in itself surprising. After all, and aside from serving as DH, he spent all of his then-four-season professional career catching before the Royals called him up early in the 2022 season, but there was no way he was taking Salvador Perez's job in Kansas City.

But because he'd slammed 41 homers and driven in 103 runs in the minors the season before, the Royals wanted his bat in the lineup.

So began Melendez's transition to the outfield. He still caught 78 times in 2022, but the turns he took in left and right made clear the Royals' intention to turn him into an outfielder. And an outfielder he became, catching in only 10 games in 2023 and none since.

Try as he did, though, for three seasons, Melendez just couldn't prove his glove or bat belonged in the majors. He made the occasional sparkling, highlight-reel play, but has career big league marks of -23 DRS and -17 OAA in the outfield, numbers that render his taking a shot at center field at least somewhat surprising.

And while Melendez has power, it's overshadowed by his poor .215/.297/.388 line.

Melendez, then, must find ways to catch and keep the Mets' eyes this spring. Improving at the plate will go a long way. So will showing improved glovework. And so will expanding his defensive portfolio by establishing himself as a viable backup for new Mets centerfielder Luis Robert Jr., who joined the club via a late-January trade with the White Sox.

Whether Melendez can do that remains to be seen, and he'll have to overcome the considerable obstacle of a nearly complete lack of experience in center. Not until this winter, when he played there seven times for Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League, had Melendez appeared to have even experimented there.

But he made a decent showing at Caguas, handling nine chances without an error in 50 innings. An almost minuscule sample size, yes, but something to build on this spring. And adding center field to the five positions he's played professionally — besides catching and playing right and left, he's also appeared at first and third bases — gives New York choices and defensive flexibility.

And importantly, he seems at ease with the notion of adding center to his repertoire: as he told Puma, "I knew center field was something I wanted to implement into my game and it's something that now I feel comfortable that I can do, playing all three outfield positions."

As of this writing, Melendez had appeared in one of New York's first two Grapefruit League games. Yet to see action in center — he played right in the Mets' exhibition opener — he's 0-2 and hasn't made an error.