The Mets have signed veteran outfielder Nori Aoki, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. The Blue Jays released Aoki earlier this week, making him eligible to sign with any team for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary.
The 35-year-old Aoki has produced a respectable .274/.319/.402 line over 258 plate appearances with the Astros and Jays this season, but has now changed teams twice, first heading from Houston to Toronto in the Francisco Liriano deal (likely in part to balance salaries in that trade) and now going from Toronto to New York. He has little power, with just five home runs this season, but he retains some of his established ability to make contact and still rates as approximately an average defender in a corner.
Aoki will aid a Mets team that’s short in the outfield following the departures of Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson last month, as well as significant injuries to Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto. Aoki is eligible for salary arbitration in the offseason, but he would likely be in line to receive a salary above the $5.5MM he’s getting this season, so he appears to be a non-tender candidate.
Yay Aoki is the man, we suck but happy he’s on the team.
At least 40-50 people called this when mlbtraderumors announced his release the other day. See, the GM’s read this. 🙂
Aoki continues his season long slide down the standings, but at least he has a major league job (the Mets are still major league in the loosest sense of the term).
Considering the mets have very few Healthy mlb caliber outfielders it’s no surprise he’s in New York.
The Mets are Las Vegas East, and Las Vegas is Atlantic League West. Hope the money they have saved will go into some quality FA’s this off-season. And let’s make the call about David Wright. Work a nice retirement arrangement for him and get him off the 40-man roster. Start negotiating now so when you have to activate the 60-day DL guy’s at the end of the season he is NOT holding up a spot for someone else. PLEASE !
The mets most likely won’t sign any high profile FA this offseason.
Why not just use nimmo…
How are they not using Nimmo? You need more than 3 outfielders to get through the season and I’d say they barely have 3 at the moment. Jose Reyes has played left field…..
Kind of pointless if not a part of 2018 plan which ASSUMES THE YOUNG CALL UPS will be better than Grandy, Duda, Bruce and Walker………
C NOBODY- d’Arnaud is terrible offensively and defensively ALL IN ON LuCroy
1B Dom Smith (could be a shorter chubby NON-power bat, but not an Olreud-.300 bat)
2B Cabrera- who wanted out once moved from SS
3B Rivera- looks like a non-juiced version of A-Rod but can go 25/100/.300
SS Rosario if he stops swinging at everything, could be a young Reyes clone
LF Cespedes with 50 DL days
CF Cain (the ONLY free agent CFer that is a MLB starter and can bat leadoff)
RF Conforto- franchise player but doesn’t have a RF cannon-arm, best arm is Cespedes)
BENCH- Reyes, Flores, Nimmo, Lagares
Starters 1-5 with a HUGE ASTERISK.. all 5 have NEVER been healthy together a single day
1-Noah 2-deGrom 3-Wheeler 4-Matz 5a-Harvey 5B-Lugo
7th through 9th inning- Blevins, Ramos, Familia
FAs- would love Rasiel Iglesias multiple inning closer and Doolittle LHP
Point is window is closing fast, and they are putting out A LOT of unknowns with a payroll less than $50M and even signing Cain and two premier RPs, that’s only an extra $20M
If they won’t sign any big ticket players, then they should consider buying out deGrom and Noah’s pre-arbitration years costing probably 25M a year since they won’t be paid as aces with multiple years at league minimum wages. Probably 60 cents on the dollar if 5 years.
BUT IF THE WANT TO ACTUALLY CONTEND, sign
JD Martinez and put Conforto back in CF
Eric Hosmer and trade Dom Smith for as much as possible
Moustakas because he is better than Rivera right now
Pat Neshek and McGee from Colorado and Albers from Washington
That team wins the NL East and 100 games………………….
1-Conforto 2-Cabrera 3-Cespedes 4-Martinez 5-Moose 6-Hosmer 7-Lucroy 8-Rosario
PEN- RHPs- Familia, Ramos, Iglesias, Albers, McGee, Neshek LHP=Blevins, Doolittle
Your green jets helmet is too tight Big Blue. Your number 4-5-6 hitters will never sign with the Mets. You would have a better chance talking them into switching sports and signing with the jets, who’s owners are at least not CHEAP like the wilpons.
Lot of problems with what you just posted but how in the hell do you think tj Rivera can put up those kind of numbers even if you extrapolate his sample size this year to a full season you don’t wind up anywhere near that. 25 hrs for a guy who never hit more than 11 in the minors. Really hope this is a joke cause half those guys aren’t even FA’s.
I was reading his comment and it hurt my brain. Thank you for this lol.
here you go clueless.
spotrac.com/mlb/free-agents/
The second post was a joke as the Coupon’s would never do it, my point is the 2018 team will be comprised of 66% first time FULL-SEASON players to go with 5 pitchers that never have been on the active roster at the same time.
I assume you are the dope that thinks David Wright will play 3B…….LMAO.
Clearly you hate the Mets and think Aoki was actually a GOOD move and has value to the 2018 Mets……..his marginal defense and whopping 5 HRs.
Reyes will play the OF before they ever resign this clown.
Your first post was even worse. Doolittle and iglesias won’t be FA’s unless they have tommy John on both arms and blow out both of their knees. I said nothing about d wright playing 3B I only asked you how you thought Tj Rivera would double up his best minor league numbers next year as an everyday 3B next year. Aoki is so you can finish the season with a couple outfielders but I don’t even know why I typed that you’re an absolute clown.
After signing the contract, Aoki was quoted as saying, “My agent says we have extra insurance as this team brings bad luck. Need to protect myself. He also said, Don’t listen to that idiot manager. Don’t believe a word he says.”
Yeah, he said that…..go troll elsewhere.
I don’t see the Mets contending in the next coming 20 years