The defensively challenged Mets are racking up errors at an alarming rate in spring training

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Errors or mental lapses, whichever they may be, the Mets must start playing better defense sooner rather than later.

Over the past two games alone, the Mets have committed seven errors in the field. The club has amassed 10 errors overall in their seven exhibition games.

“The last two days have been tough,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “I think right away we got to recognize that we hurt ourselves. … You want to say that it’s early in camp and we have room. But we need to do it right now.”

In one of their latest defensive blunders Monday, J.D. Davis was in the shift between first and second when Alex Avila knocked a grounder right at him. Davis scooped the ball but threw behind first baseman Mark Vientos. Rojas said Davis was in position and he rushed the play. It was only the fourth inning, but Davis’ fielding error cost the Mets their third unearned run of the afternoon.

The Mets’ 9-5 loss to the Nationals on Monday was just the fourth game Davis has played this spring. As he manned the hot corner at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Davis blamed the frequent shifting — four times in that costly fourth inning — and the constant shuffling of his feet.

“That was more of a mental lapse,” Davis said. “I fielded the ball, but my legs were just absolutely dead.”

Davis figures to be the Mets’ starting third baseman with added depth from Luis Guillorme and Jonathan Villar when needed. Rojas said Jeff McNeil will see most of his reps at second base and in left field after his three-error day at third base on Sunday. Davis knows he needs to be on his toes and improve his footwork; teammate Francisco Lindor told him as much.

“My problem is never my hands, it’s always just the footwork and being able to create angles and work through balls,” Davis said. “Especially at the hot corner, you always gotta try and move your feet.”

Jordan Yamamoto, who started for the first time Monday, committed an error in the first inning that should have been the third out. On two outs, Yamamoto flubbed a grounder at the mound that allowed Juan Soto to reach first base. The new Mets right-hander stumbled through the remainder of the inning, allowing two RBI singles to Ryan Zimmerman and Kyle Schwarber that went as unearned runs.

Yamamoto recovered for two scoreless innings in the second and third and increased his pitch count into the 40s. With the competition for the fifth-starter role centered around lefties David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi, Yamamoto is destined to start the regular season at the Mets’ alternate site and could provide a good depth option down the line. Jake Hager, who crushed a three-run home run in the eighth inning, also committed his second fielding error of spring at second base in the sixth.

“That was definitely the hard part of the day.” Yamamoto said of his flub. “The worst part of the day.”

Overall, the Mets’ defense can hardly be described as sharp. That’s not where the team wanted to be at this stage in camp, when team president Sandy Alderson went out of his way to emphasize the need to improve the club’s defense early in the offseason. Alderson, who served as Mets GM from 2010-18, took some of the responsibility in November for the team’s poor defense “as it exists today” due to the emphasis the club put on offense while he was at the helm.

The Mets had the fifth-worst DRS (-22) in MLB last year. The team’s UZR (-1.5), though slightly better, was dead in the middle of the league, as were the team’s 31 errors. MLB defense is notoriously hard to measure, but statistics and observation make the whole picture clear: Defense has been a weakness for the Mets, dating back several years.

Rojas said he will speak to his players — both as a team and individually — this week in an effort to resolve their defensive issues. The skipper has maintained that “the recipe to win championships is pitching and defense” and the Mets can be a championship-caliber team by being humble and vulnerable about their mistakes.

“If we’re going to say that we’re a good team, we have to go out there on the field and be a good team,” Rojas said. “We end up hurting ourselves defensively. That’s just something that can’t happen.”

The Mets have 17 exhibition games remaining to dust off the cobwebs and lock in. But based on their defensive results so far, the Amazin’s will need every moment between Tuesday and April 1 to drastically improve in the field.