The Mets announced the signing of five players to minor league deals, including outfielder Abraham Almonte and infielder José Peraza. They also announced the previously-reported deals for right-handers Tommy Hunter, Sean Reid-Foley and Jimmy Yacabonis. All but Reid-Foley, who is likely to miss extended time after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May, will receive invites to major league Spring Training.
Peraza, 29 in April, will return to the Mets club he was with in 2021. A speed-and-contact guy, he’s stolen 79 bases in his career and has only struck out in 13.1% of his plate appearances but has never been much of a power threat. He did hit 14 home runs with the Reds in 2018, but that stands out as an anomaly compared to the rest of his career. For 2022, he spent the year in Triple-A on minor league deals with the Yankees and then Red Sox. Between the two clubs, he hit .236/.290/.354, wRC+ of 70. He’ll provide the Mets with a versatile depth option, as he’s played all three outfield slots and the three infield positions to the left of first base.
Almonte, 34 in June, has appeared in parts of the past 10 MLB seasons, though he’s been limited to part-time roles. His 82 games played in 2015 are still his career high. Last year, he mashed in the minors, getting into 80 Triple-A games and hitting .293/.417/.534 for a wRC+ of 153. He also got into 15 MLB games with the Red Sox, hitting .257/.297/.400 for a wRC+ of 93.
Almonte appeared to have a deal in place KBO’s LG Twins earlier this month, though they reportedly nullified the deal after conducting his physical. Whatever the issue was that caused the Twins to walk away, it’s evidently not a huge concern for the Mets. He’ll give them an experienced outfielder as a depth option in the minors.
Wonder what Uncle Steve is going to get me for Christmas…
A nice Andrew Chafin dish filled with holds, maybe?!
baseballnerd20: that would be a nice little stocking stuffer for sure! I also think there will be a bigger gift… they were in on Correa before he signed. That’s not an isolated target.
He got you Abraham Almonte. They don’t get much bigger than that
The release of James McCann… Addition by subtraction.
You kids are never satisfied!
But I’ve been good this year!
Three Bullpen Additions (Ottavino, Fulmer & Chafin), two Bench Players (Duvall & Brian Anderson) and a DH in a pear tree (JD Martinez). Merry Christmas @Pennypacker!!
LOL!
Good pickups for depth.
Couple guys the Sox tried and failed with.
However we tried to make them starters, the Mets are smart and talented enough to know they are depth pieces, and I’ll bet it goes well.
Cue the Long Island contingent of Mets fans with tired jokes and snark about the depth moves every good team makes.
Why “Long Island fans”. That’s oddly specific. Care to elaborate on your PTSD?
Hahahaha. In my experience – they are the most intensely loyal yet also the quickest with an emotional hot take!
Haha I don’t disagree
Cohen gave Red Sox fans the best gift possible; signing Almonte so Bloom can’t
Almonte inexplicably gets picked up every winter, is DFAd by May, and is invariably picked up by another team. He’s a great depth option as long as you don’t have to use him.
Almonte is too slow and overweight for outfield depth.
Almonte failed his physical with the Korean team? I guess over there, your weight can’t be higher than your batting average.
Almonte hasn’t made an error in Centerfield since 2014 ( but he’s only been out in center 110 games since then. ) Trying to find the positive here.
All 29 teams are happy the Mets signed these guys
Now we’re getting stupid. Why waste all of this money on a half a dozen guys that suck when you can get Brantley for the same amount? Oh, and trade McCann for a hot dog guy.