NY Mets: Five most valuable minor league deals this offseason

The New York Mets have been active in free agency, signing over 10 players to minor league deals. Which five are the best?

The New York Mets have been active so far this offseason despite only making a couple of significant free agent signings so far in Trevor May and James McCann. What the team has done so far, though, is fortify their depth behind their 25-man roster.

The Mets had an enigmatic team last season. On the one hand, their offense was one of the best in the National League. Thanks to the offensive contributions from Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil, and Robinson Cano, the Mets scored runs with apparent ease. On the other hand, their offensive output was necessary to keep them in games as their pitching, particularly in their rotation, cratered. None of the Mets free agent pitching signings (Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha) worked out, and Steven Matz regressed further.

New Mets owner Steve Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson are opting for a different approach this time. Instead of signing bounceback candidates to one-year deals, they are choosing to instead sign many players to minor league deals, with the hope that a couple of them could contribute to the team in 2021.

In particular, there are five minor league deals that feature players that could potentially help the Mets in 2021. For this list, I evaluated the players by their potential and upside as well as their past history. I also considered the current Mets roster construction and examined whether the player signed to a minor league deal has a plausible path to their big league roster. All the five candidates I have chosen for this list have spent time at the major league level before, so the hope for the Mets is that they can return to form and salvage their flailing careers.