Tyrone Taylor getting more starts for Mets due to defensive prowess

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.Sometimes, it just takes a full sprint to the left-center gap — where Tyrone Taylor dove to catch a ball that left Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s bat with a speed of 101.3 mph and an expected batting average of .490 Tuesday — to produce as conspicuous a reminder of defensive value as possible.Sometimes, a moment in Game 30 can provide proof for why the Mets outfield structure should look the same five months later when everything wraps up.Defense had always been Taylor’s strength, as he arrived last year without an error charged to his 331-game MLB ledger before committing his first three in 2024.

He became the go-to defensive option in center field during the Mets postseason, too, when timely hits followed.Then, against the Diamondbacks, Taylor made the catch that prompted him to mouth “wow” in the moment and utter “pretty cool” and “pretty sweet” descriptors 20 hours later.If the Mets needed another hint of the value that Taylor provides when patrolling the outfield, he presented one — along with a pair of run-scoring hits — during their win, and he’ll need to channel that across their next stretch of games to fend off competition.

Jose Siri is expected to return from a fractured left tibia at some point.Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuña can be plugged in at center at any moment, too.

So this next run of games, continuing Wednesday when he started in center and hit ninth, could help determine Taylor’s role moving forward.“I don’t think about it like that,” Taylor told The Post before he homered for the first time this season and added another multi-hit game during the Mets’ 4-3 loss. “But I think I just take every day the same — no matter what the circumstances are.I’m just here, thankful to be here and trying to be my best self.”Taylor has hit just .222 this season, but he has now colle...