The Mets and outfielder Billy McKinney have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Boras Corporation client had been spotted in camp earlier today by Tyler Boronski.
McKinney, 30, is a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect. That has led to many big league chances but he hasn’t hit enough to take advantage of them, which has pushed him into journeyman mode. He has appeared in each of the past seven seasons, suiting up for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers, Athletics and Pirates. He only once played more than 84 games in a season, which was 2021, a year in which he played roughly 40 games for three different clubs.
That’s a reflection of his lack of production. Overall, he’s had 943 big league plate appearances. His 9% walk rate is solid but he also has a high strikeout rate of 26.8%. His .209/.284/.386 batting line translates to a 79 wRC+, indicating he’s been 21% below league average overall.
He has continued to produce in the minor leagues, however. Over the past three seasons, he has hit .288/.398/.500 on the farm for a 128 wRC+. That performance, combined with his previous prospect pedigree, has kept him floating around.
Cracking the big league roster with the Mets will be a challenge. Their outfield mix consists of Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, Tyrone Taylor, Jesse Winker and Starling Marte. Once healthy, Jeff McNeil could be in that group as well, depending on what happens at second base. The Mets also have Alexander Canario and José Azocar on the roster at present, though both are out of options and might get squeezed in the coming days.
McKinney will give them some non-roster depth alongside Rafael Ortega, Gilberto Celestino and Travis Swaggerty. Even if he doesn’t have a great path to Queens, playing for Syracuse will give him a chance to showcase himself for the other 29 clubs.
Photo courtesy Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Been waiting for this to happen. Outstanding.
I liked McKinney when he was with the Mets before and wish him luck.
Seemed like a decent guy (and was terrific for the Mets in ’21), and every team needs to map the fringes, particularly to avoid spending an option on bringing a young player up for a week when it’s better strategy to have someone like Billy around to give 20 PA to.
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“. Their outfield mix consists of Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Siri, Tyrone Taylor, Jesse Winker and Starling Marte.”
—Sorry, mlbtr, but neither Winker or Marte is other than one of the worst OFers in the majors, acc to Statcast et al. And that was last year, when they were 30 and 35. Now they’re 31 and 36. Put Marte out there and you’re playing someone significantly worse in the OF and actually slower than DJ Stewart.
Dock Nimmo for his injuries, at least for now, and the Mets have all of three guys who can play the OF, and that’s including one of the lesser RFers in MLB. This could be the year when Jett gets a serious look in MLB when one of Baty and Acuna falters.
Hopefully Steve Cohen can replicate what the Guggenheim people did for the Dodgers. As much as I bash and hate the New York Yankees, having good teams in New York is very good for the game of baseball.
I absolutely don’t remember this guy and I watched every game in 2021
Billy’s claim to fame is he was involved in three significant trades early in his career.
Unfortunately one of those was to the Blue Jays
Hey, his 943 PA in MLB would make him famous in my neighborhood, enough to cause kids in Little League to give his house an awed look on their way to school.
Jabroni
McKinney and Ortega in the same Syracuse outfield? Two future AAAA Hall of Famers for sure!
Now there is a blast from the past. Too bad he could never hit MLB pitching.
McKinney keeps getting chances because hes a nice guy and is very dedicated to the game. Type of guy thats the first one there, last one to leave. He just doesn’t have the talent to be a big leaguer, training can only get you so far
More building adaptable, flexible systems that maximize every asset, whether or not that asset ever spends a full season on the major league roster.
Man, he looks good in the box, dangerous. Bat just does not meet ball.