Tyrone Taylor undergoes two surgeries as Mets start offseason with outfield questions
Tyrone Taylor’s offseason began with not one but two surgeries.
The outfielder underwent an umbilical hernia repair Oct. 30 in Phoenix before undergoing a right elbow loose body removal in New York on Thursday, the Mets said Friday.
The club said the average return to play for these procedures is about two months, which would mean Taylor’s spring training would be unaffected if all goes well.
Still, the only player on the Mets’ roster at the moment with whom they are comfortable in center field will have to recover from a pair of surgeries, one on his core and one on his throwing elbow.
Harrison Bader is a free agent.
The only outfielders on the Mets’ 40-man roster are Taylor, Brandon Nimmo (who club president David Stearns said likely will remain a left fielder), Starling Marte (who was barely playable in right field this past season), Jose Azocar (a September waiver pick-up who can play defense but has never hit in the majors) and prospect Alex Ramirez (who posted a .590 OPS with Double-A Binghamton).
In Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert, the Mets have a pair of top prospects who could play center, but neither is expected to be ready by the start of the season.
The center field free agent crop is thin, with Bader perhaps the best option in a group with Kiké Hernandez and Michael A. Taylor.
The Mets could seek further depth on the trade market, which is how they acquired Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers last winter.
The 30-year-old Taylor was a valuable fourth outfielder — and more than that in October, when he received the majority of starts in center — who did just about everything well and nothing spectacularly.
He posted about a league-average .701 OPS with seven home runs and 11 steals in 130 games while playing solid defense at all three outfield spots.
This week, the Mets signed righty Rico Garcia to a minor league deal that includes an invite to major league camp, The Post confirmed.
MLB.com first reported the development.
Garcia, a 30-year-old from Hawaii, has pitched in parts of four major league seasons with five teams and owns a career 7.32 ERA in 30 games.
He spent this past season with the Nationals’ Triple-A club, where he struck out 89 in 61 ²/₃ innings and saved 20 games with a 3.94 ERA.
The Mets have begun stocking up relief options, having signed righty Dylan Covey to a one-year major league deal and having claimed righty Kevin Herget off waivers from the Brewers.