Tyrone Taylor continues showing Mets, opponents he’s ‘elite defender’

Kodai Senga quickly found himself on the ropes on Sunday night. 

After Shohei Ohtani crushed the second pitch of the ballgame for a homer, Mookie Betts reached on a Mark Vientos error and Freddie Freeman lined an opposite-field double to put two in scoring position with no outs. 

Will Smith then stepped to the plate looking to add on. 

The sweet-swinging catcher floated a liner to shallow right-center which Tyrone Taylor broke in on at full speed and made the catch before unleashing a perfect throw home to catch the speedy Betts trying to score.

That ended up being a huge play for the Mets in what ended as a 3-1 victory.   

“That’s not an easy play,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s coming from a different angle, but then he has to put himself in a different position quickly to align the hips, the shoulder to make that throw to home plate -- that’s what makes him a special defender. 

“He’s really good out there because of the little things like that. When he’s going pretty much away from the play and he’s got to turn and put his body into position to execute a perfect throw to the plate.” 

This is just the latest of numerous game-changing plays Taylor has made this year. 

The 31-year-old has stepped up tremendously in the everyday centerfielder role since Jose Siri went down with an injury -- currently ranking in the 92nd percentile, according to Baseball Savant, with a stellar 3 Outs Above Average.

Mendoza and the Mets know this is who he is, they certainly aren’t surprised.

“With TT and you’re talking about defense, you’re not surprised,” the skipper said. “This guy that whether it’s the jumps, the routes, the range overall, and then the arm. That’s not an easy play but for him to just turn and execute the throw -- he’s an elite defender.”

And it’s not just defensively where Taylor has provided a spark -- prior to his 0-for-2 showing on Sunday night, the veteran was riding a seven-game hitting streak with two doubles and an .847 OPS over that span. 

Tyrone Taylor throws out Mookie Betts at home!

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/we7LXxRL5L— SNY (@SNYtv) May 25, 2025