What It Would Take for New York Mets to Land J.J. Hardy

While many teams are likely to try to sign big-name free-agent pitchers this offseason, the New York Mets do not really have a problem with their starting rotation.

In fact, the 2015 rotation will very likely include Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Jacob deGrom. In addition, two of Noah Syndergaard, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Bartolo Colon and Rafael Montero will fill out the rotation depending on who among them, if any, get traded this winter.

The Mets bullpen does not seem to be a major concern either. Bobby Parnell, Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Vic Black, Carlos Torres and Josh Edgin are all very likely to be included in the Mets' Opening Day bullpen next season.

Those six would leave one open spot, and one of the Mets' starting pitchers who does not make the rotation could very well move to the bullpen as a long reliever.

So with all the pitching depth the Mets have, it's the offense that needs an upgrade. The Mets offense is currently 28th in batting average (14th among National League teams), 22nd in home runs (12th among NL teams), 20th in runs scored (ninth among NL teams) and 26th in OPS (12th among NL teams).

Being in the bottom half and close to the bottom in all four of these major offensive categories is not good, and it shows that the Mets need to put together a better lineup.

But this doesn't necessarily mean that the entire lineup needs a makeover. Team captain David Wright will continue to man third base for years to come. Daniel Murphy has had another solid season at second base, making the National League All-Star team for the first time in his career. First baseman Lucas Duda has had a breakout season with 28 home runs and 86 RBI so far.

In the outfield, veteran right fielder Curtis Granderson has overcome a slow start, and has 19 home runs and 65 RBI. Center fielder Juan Lagares matured over the season, and has hit .281. And behind the plate, rookie catcher Travis d'Arnaud had a slow start of his own, but now has 13 home runs, leading all NL rookie hitters.

All in all, the Mets offense has some established stars, some younger works-in-progress and some others who have improved over time into very solid position players. But there are two positions the Mets could use significant upgrades at: shortstop and left field.

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The shortstop void has pretty much existed since the departure of Jose Reyes after the 2011 season. The Mets have tried Ruben Tejada and Wilmer Flores for the two seasons since Reyes left. Tejada simply has not played well enough to be an everyday shortstop on a good team, and Flores is still more or less a work-in-progress.

The Mets could use a veteran power-hitting shortstop. The team is on the younger side and could benefit from some more experience in the field. One potential soon-to-be free-agent shortstop the Mets should pay attention to this offseason is J.J. Hardy of the Baltimore Orioles.

Hardy is currently hitting .270 with nine home runs, 52 RBI and a .684 OPS. However, he averaged over 25 home runs and over 74 RBI per season from 2011 to 2013. He has shown that he has power and can be a very good run-producer.

The Mets need at least one more reliable run-producer in order to improve offensively in 2015. Hardy could fill the void at shortstop and give the lineup more depth than it has had this season. He also has a pair of Gold Glove Awards under his belt, so he would provide some defensive stability as well.

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At 32 years old, Hardy will almost certainly seek at least a two- or three-year contract from teams this offseason. Given his track record in recent years, Hardy could earn an annual salary of $15 million, if not slightly more. The Mets should not have much of a problem with paying him, though.

Good shortstops are hard to come by for many teams. If the Mets can find a way to get a shortstop of Hardy's caliber, that will be a big step in the right direction.

In case the Mets and Hardy do not get anything worked out though, other potential free agent shortstops include Mike Aviles, Asdrubal Cabrera, Stephen Drew, Jed Lowrie and Hanley Ramirez.

The Dodgers will most likely do everything they can to keep Ramirez in Los Angeles, so it does not look likely that he will become a free agent this offseason. Among the others, none really stand out. Cabrera could be another option to consider, but Hardy is the better value of the two.

The Mets at this point are a few hitters away from being a serious National League East contender, and maybe even a championship contender. Signing a shortstop like Hardy and upgrading in left field could be just what the team needs to earn a winning record for the first time since 2008 and get back to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

All statistics are courtesy of MLB.com.