Mets Sign Rick Ankiel, Demote Andrew Brown to AAA

According to the beat writers and confirmed by Jon Heyman, the Mets have signed Rick Ankiel to a major league deal.  Ankiel is on his way to St. Louis and will be in tonight’s lineup in center field.  To make room for Ankiel on the roster, the Mets sent Andrew Brown to AAA Las Vegas.  In order to avoid removing someone from the 40-man roster to accommodate Ankiel, the Mets transferred RHP Jenrry Mejia to the 60 day disabled list.

Apr 19, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros right fielder

(28) rounds third after a home run against the Cleveland Indians in the second inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Ankiel, 33, had been recently released by the Houston Astros, who are the worst team in all of baseball.  He was hitting .194 with a .231 OBP.

I’m trying to stay even keeled right now, but I’m afraid my vitriol is about to come through the computer screen.  So, I’ll keep this short before turning it over to a series of tweets from fans and writers that will adequately express my rage regarding this signing.

Not only did the Mets sign Ankiel, who’s atrocious, they’re opting to insert him in the lineup at the expense of Juan Lagares, who will now only play against lefties.  The move will also likely nail Jordany Valdespin to the bench.  What the HELL is going on here?  This is supposed to be a season when the Mets evaluate which young players should stick, not a season where they sign players who weren’t good enough to stick with the Houston Astros.

As is noted above and according to Terry Collins, Ankiel will start in center field against righties, while Juan Lagares gets the starts there against lefties.  I guess Matt den Dekker, who is a few weeks away from returning to action, should get comfortable in AAA.  Apparently, Sandy Alderson would rather fill the roster with a player he knows is useless when the alternative is evaluating a kid who could turn into something useful.

Now,  onto the tweets (from when the signing was rumored through when it became official):

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