![Mets should take a look at Dexter Fowler](http://web.archive.org./web/20170106184101im_/http://d1ya1fm0bicxg1.cloudfront.net/2016/12/19336-optimized_584391f3d6ddd.jpg)
Mets should take a look at Dexter Fowler
For the New York Mets, a team severely lacking in the speed department, Dexter Fowler is a free agent worth looking at.
Even at the age of 30, the former Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs standout hasn't lost his ability to swipe bases. Make no mistake: He's as fast as ever.
Fowler stole a total of 33 bases -- some of his finest numbers ever -- between 2015 and 2016 for the Cubs. Over the past season, he turned in a respectable .276 batting average, with 126 hits and 84 runs scored, helping Chicago win its first World Series in over 100 years. Those kinds of stats -- and leadership qualities -- should be appealing to Mets GM Sandy Alderson, as New York could definitely use a legitimate stolen base threat and veteran contact hitter for the season ahead.
Fowler is also appealing because of his glove. Defensively, he's much better than Michael Conforto, and perhaps even an upgrade over Curtis Granderson. While it's true that the Mets currently are overloaded in the outfield, signing Fowler would make sense if Alderson trades Jay Bruce for a bullpen piece. Is that a realistic scenario? Absolutely. Bruce is widely expected to be traded away. If that should happen, New York will have a spot open in the outfield.
That's where Fowler could come into play. The only thing the Mets would need to worry about is the possibility of a rapid decline in production. Let's be honest: Fowler isn't getting any faster. Now at the age of 30, he's still a speedster. But Father Time is going to catch up to him eventually. That said, the Mets may want to offer him a short-term deal, no longer than two years.