[Puma] Jose Siri brings elite defense, ‘chaos’ to Mets while trying to improve anemic bat
February 20, 2025
[Puma] Jose Siri brings elite defense, ‘chaos’ to Mets while trying to improve anemic bat
9 comments
“I liken him to chaos,” [Ryne] Stanek said Wednesday at Clover Park. “There is always something that is going to happen when he’s involved. Whether it’s stealing a base, running into the wall, making a play, he is always doing something to impact the game one way or another. Talent is definitely not lacking for him. He’s a pretty freak talent.”
“It surprised me that Tampa traded me,” [Jose] Siri said through an interpreter. “But then I thought about it: [New York] is a big city, it’s a great team, and then I started thinking about the opportunities that I would be able to have.”
Upon his arrival to camp, Siri told manager Carlos Mendoza his goal is to improve his plate discipline. Last season, Siri’s chase rate of 35.2 percent placed him in MLB’s 12th percentile, according to Statcast. His whiff rate (swing and miss) was 41.9 percent, placing him in the first percentile.
“There is swing and miss there, and that is something he brought up to us,” Mendoza said. “He wants to make more contact. He wants to put the ball in play. There’s power there. There is room for improvement … making better swing decisions, but I think it comes down to putting the ball in play.”
Soto and Siri both hail from the Dominican Republic and know each other. For Siri, the opportunity to play alongside one of the game’s biggest stars will only add to the allure of New York.
“We have a real good relationship and it’s going to be a lot of fun in the outfield,” Siri said. “I also think we have a great chance to do a lot of good things offensively. The things that I admire about [Soto] are the way he talks about hitting, his thought process and his overall approach.”
Defensively, Siri is at the top of the class among center fielders — his 16 outs above average ranked in MLB’s 99th percentile last season.
His arm strength and sprint speed are also at elite levels, according to Statcast. The 6-foot-2 Siri is a highlight reel in the making with his ability to reach above fences — sometimes levitating — to rob opponents of home runs.
“It never hurts your feelings to have some elite defense behind you, especially in center field,” Stanek said. “You are less worried about contact because somebody like that’s out there. Gap to gap, [Siri] covers so much ground. The speed is real. The glove is obviously real.”
“I feel very fortunate and thankful that God gave me the opportunity to come to a team like this,” Siri said. “A great fan base, a great organization.”
Excited to have him on the squad. He reminds me a bit of Carlos Gomez
I have reasonably high hopes for his bat this year. 25 HR/.750 OPS and hopefully half the strikeouts.
Sleeper pickup of the year IMO. Dude is gonna bring a similar energy like Iglesias did last year. He’s an animal that’s gonna make LF and RF job much easier
I watched Siri during winter ball and his bat was non existent
It’s not likely he’s going to start hitting MLB pitching but I hope he’s able to give us something above .200
Siri: go berserk.
Imagine if he could hit .250
I wonder how many phones will unintentionally turn on whenever Siri has an appearance. “Hey Siri, nice play!” “Hey Siri, don’t strike out!”
Huge fan of this trade. Obviously should be an amazing defender and he hit 25 home runs in 101 games in 2023 so the power potential is there. I think there is some serious upside here and if it doesn’t work out Taylor or one of the young guys can take over CF and he can be a very useful 4th outfielder
9 comments
“I liken him to chaos,” [Ryne] Stanek said Wednesday at Clover Park. “There is always something that is going to happen when he’s involved. Whether it’s stealing a base, running into the wall, making a play, he is always doing something to impact the game one way or another. Talent is definitely not lacking for him. He’s a pretty freak talent.”
“It surprised me that Tampa traded me,” [Jose] Siri said through an interpreter. “But then I thought about it: [New York] is a big city, it’s a great team, and then I started thinking about the opportunities that I would be able to have.”
Upon his arrival to camp, Siri told manager Carlos Mendoza his goal is to improve his plate discipline. Last season, Siri’s chase rate of 35.2 percent placed him in MLB’s 12th percentile, according to Statcast. His whiff rate (swing and miss) was 41.9 percent, placing him in the first percentile.
“There is swing and miss there, and that is something he brought up to us,” Mendoza said. “He wants to make more contact. He wants to put the ball in play. There’s power there. There is room for improvement … making better swing decisions, but I think it comes down to putting the ball in play.”
Soto and Siri both hail from the Dominican Republic and know each other. For Siri, the opportunity to play alongside one of the game’s biggest stars will only add to the allure of New York.
“We have a real good relationship and it’s going to be a lot of fun in the outfield,” Siri said. “I also think we have a great chance to do a lot of good things offensively. The things that I admire about [Soto] are the way he talks about hitting, his thought process and his overall approach.”
Defensively, Siri is at the top of the class among center fielders — his 16 outs above average ranked in MLB’s 99th percentile last season.
His arm strength and sprint speed are also at elite levels, according to Statcast. The 6-foot-2 Siri is a highlight reel in the making with his ability to reach above fences — sometimes levitating — to rob opponents of home runs.
“It never hurts your feelings to have some elite defense behind you, especially in center field,” Stanek said. “You are less worried about contact because somebody like that’s out there. Gap to gap, [Siri] covers so much ground. The speed is real. The glove is obviously real.”
“I feel very fortunate and thankful that God gave me the opportunity to come to a team like this,” Siri said. “A great fan base, a great organization.”
Excited to have him on the squad. He reminds me a bit of Carlos Gomez
I have reasonably high hopes for his bat this year. 25 HR/.750 OPS and hopefully half the strikeouts.
Sleeper pickup of the year IMO. Dude is gonna bring a similar energy like Iglesias did last year. He’s an animal that’s gonna make LF and RF job much easier
I watched Siri during winter ball and his bat was non existent
It’s not likely he’s going to start hitting MLB pitching but I hope he’s able to give us something above .200
Siri: go berserk.
Imagine if he could hit .250
I wonder how many phones will unintentionally turn on whenever Siri has an appearance. “Hey Siri, nice play!” “Hey Siri, don’t strike out!”
Huge fan of this trade. Obviously should be an amazing defender and he hit 25 home runs in 101 games in 2023 so the power potential is there. I think there is some serious upside here and if it doesn’t work out Taylor or one of the young guys can take over CF and he can be a very useful 4th outfielder