Earlier today, the Mets inked outfielder Chris Young to a one-year, $7.25MM contract, marking their first Major League signing of the offseason. Here's more on Young and some other Mets-related issues…
- GM Sandy Alderson flew to Houston to meet with Young personally last week and promised him regular playing time, though maybe not in center field, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).
- ESPN's Keith Law breaks down the signing, calling Young an "imperfect fit" for the Mets (Insider subscription required and recommended). Young hasn't been the same since injuring his shoulder last April, writes Law, pointing out his .203/.282/.375 slash line since that time. In order to mitigate the risk of a replacement-level offensive performance from Young, Law argues that a team should be playing him in center field says. But for the Mets, he notes, Juan Lagares is too defensively gifted to move.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, meanwhile, sees things somewhat differently. He argues that Young "will likely go down as one of the best free agent signings of the off-season," even though his contract landed at the same dollars, but only half the years, of that predicted through Fangraphs reader crowdsourcing. Noting that Young suffered from a low BABIP last year, and arguing that his past platoon split may not be as much of an issue as some believe, Cameron says that this contract compares favorably to those given last year to Cody Ross (three years, $26MM), Ryan Ludwick ($15MM over two years) and Jonny Gomes ($10MM for two seasons).
- Mike Puma of the New York Post reminds that the Mets' offseason shopping list has consisted of two bats, a starting pitcher and a reliever. Young likely qualifies as one of those bats, and Puma wonders if the Mets have backed off their pursuit of Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta due to their asking prices (Twitter links). Peralta is said to be seeking a surprising $56-75MM guarantee.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
