Veteran outfielder Matt den Dekker has retired, according to the independent Atlantic League’s transactions page. He had been playing for the Long Island Ducks.
Now 31 years old, den Dekker entered professional baseball as a fifth-round pick of the Mets in 2010. He then ranked as one of the Mets’ top 25 prospects at Baseball America in four straight seasons. Den Dekker made his New York debut in 2013, the first of two consecutive campaigns in which he saw action with the Mets, but only mustered a .238/.325/.310 line with one home run during that 237-plate appearance span.
On March 31, 2015, one week before the season began, the Mets traded den Dekker to the Nationals for left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins. That move largely worked out for the Mets, though den Dekker did hit a solid .253/.315/.485 with five home runs across 110 PA in 2015. Den Dekker then struggled in the minors and during a limited major league sample size in 2016, leading the Nationals to designate him for assignment.
The lefty-swinging den Dekker went on to total another 29 major league PA – eight with the Tigers in 2017 and 21 in a reunion with the Mets last year – before joining the independent circuit this season. He batted .223/.305/.337 with seven homers in 415 tries at the game’s top level and .260/.325/.427 with 61 HRs in 2,248 Triple-A attempts.
Why have the Mets had so many players who’s last name starts with a lower case d over the past 10 years?
They like small d’s
Small d energy.
Underrated comment right here.
I wish I d’Arnaud.
I wish him well as I enjoyed watching him play in Las Vegas.
Oh
Who?
He’s a guy who batted .223/.305/.337 with seven homers in 415 tries at the game’s top level. What was your slash line?
Worthy of a “who?”
His very good defense should at least have got a mention.
This guy sucked
Yeah the guy managed to make the big leagues and get paid handsomely to play baseball for 9 seasons. What a loser….
…as stated by a “Never Was”.
Another hyped up Mets prospect that went nowhere.
This is so not raven!
Amazingly he refused to sign with the pirates, initially. Unamazingly, he sucked no matter where he was going to play.
The Pirates drafted him in the 16th round and probably only offered him $100 to sign…..
Meanwhile, the rules of the draft were largely changed due to the Pirates paying overshot. The Red Sox complained after Bucs drafted and signed Josh Bell.
Would have had made a great career as a 4th OF’er. But, teams kept having him start. World needs middleweights, too.
“World needs a lot of bar tenders! 2 weeks! With Pay!”
Good luck Matt!
What incredible news
Considering he’s a minor league player that got ths call because of an injury .. this means nothing..just a slow news day I guess