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.

Mets minor league deal #1: Jerry Blevins

Starting off with a relief pitcher, Jerry Blevins is someone who the Mets are very familiar with. He spent four seasons with the Mets from 2015-2018, compiling a 14-4 record with a 3.38 ERA and 166 strikeouts over 138 ⅔ innings. He later left the team and joined the Atlanta Braves, where he tossed 32 ⅓ innings for them, compiling a 3.90 ERA.

As a southpaw, Blevins has mostly been utilized in his career as a left-handed specialist tasked with getting the left-handed batters out. Over his career, Blevins has held lefties to a .583 OPS while allowing a .743 OPS from right-handed hitters. The issue with Blevins is that left-handed specialists are becoming a relic of baseball’s past. With the three-batter minimum rule implemented, Blevins is finding it more difficult to obtain employment. Apart from a miserable showing in 2020 with the San Francisco Giants during Spring Training, Blevins’ specific skill set is simply not a commodity anymore.

That being said, Blevins is not too far removed from being a productive relief pitcher. With the Braves in 2019, Blevins held opposing left-handed hitters in check. Against him, left-handed hitters compiled a .180/.261/.279 slash line, which shows that he can still be valuable to a team’s bullpen.

Blevins is 37 and nearing the end of his career, but when healthy and productive, he could serve as a left-handed specialist for the Mets bullpen. Even with the three-batter minimum rule in play, the Mets could use another left-handed pitcher because of Justin Wilson’s imminent departure. As a best case scenario, the Mets are hoping that Blevins could fill that role.

Mets minor league deal #2: Jose Peraza

Peraza is someone who the Mets feel can help their infield depth. He is also someone who is not too far removed from having success at the major league level. Known for his bat-to-ball skills and speed, Peraza is most recognized for his time with the Cincinnati Reds. His best season with the team was in 2018 when he compiled a .288/.326/.416 batting line with 14 home runs.

As I have written in a previous article, Peraza has two aspects to his game that he needs to fix. First, he needs to find a way to generate more power. Although middle infielders generally are not power hitters, the game has evolved to a point where all major league hitters are now expected to generate some power.

Second, Peraza also needs to improve his infield defense. Considering that his hope for playing time runs through Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, Peraza has to show that he could handle shortstop and other infield positions defensively. In his best season, Peraza posted the worst fielding percentage of all major leaguers (.963). In 2020, he posted -1 DRS in the infield and a -2 DRS in the outfield.

However, despite Peraza’s flaws, the Mets made a smart minor league deal with him here. He’s only 26, which means that he is too young to give up on, and he has a proven record of being a solid infielder at the big league level. Peraza’s issues can be fixed, and the Mets, by taking a chance on him, believe that he can rediscover his form. Even if Peraza gets close to replicating his 2018 year, Peraza could serve as a key utility bench player if the Mets suffer injuries to their starting infielders.

Mets minor league deal #3: Jerad Eickhoff

Considering that the Mets pitching staff was unable to remain healthy in 2020, it is always a good idea to have as much pitching depth as possible. For this reason, the Mets giving Jerad Eickhoff a minor league deal makes a lot of sense. The Mets also happen to be familiar with him.

Eickhoff has spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, and has pitched against the Mets often in his career thus far. As I mentioned in a previous article, Eickhoff may not be a strikeout machine, but he could help the Mets fill out their rotation in the event of injuries. Eickhoff is a prototype starting pitcher: He has four pitches that he throws regularly: a fourseam fastball, curveball, slider, and sinker. He was a fairly effective fly ball pitcher, using his curveball to induce easy fly outs.

Over the past few years though, Eickhoff has struggled to remain healthy, and that has severely impacted his overall performance. After only pitching around five innings in 2018, he landed on the injured list twice in 2019, suffering tendinitis in his right bicep and then a laceration on his right middle finger. Because of the injuries that Eickhoff has dealt with, he is four years removed from his most productive season.

At this point in his career, Eickhoff is not likely to make it as a productive starter. However, he could find himself getting opportunities in the bullpen if he can show the Mets that he is healthy and his offspeed pitches regain the same zip they had when he was with Philadelphia. If he can prove both of these things, Eickhoff could potentially be used by the Mets in the event of injuries or as a taxi bullpen arm, shuttling back and forth between the majors and the minors to prevent overtaxing the team’s bullpen regulars.

Mets minor league deal #4: Mallex Smith

Like Jose Peraza, Mallex Smith has shown flashes of brilliance at the big league level and remains relatively young. However, his inconsistency at the plate has cost him a chance to be guaranteed a spot on the big league roster.

However, out of all the players I discuss in this article, I believe Smith has the best chance out of all of them to earn playing time on the Mets active roster because of his speed and defensive instincts. The question regarding Smith is whether he can hit well enough to justify a roster spot.

Smith was most successful with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2018, Smith had a breakout season, slashing a .296/.367/.406 batting line in 544 plate appearances over 141 games. He also was second in the American League with 40 stolen bases, tied for first in triples (10), and recorded a 3.5 WAR, which was the second-highest position player WAR on the Rays that year.

However, the Rays must have considered Smith’s breakout year a fluke run for they shipped him off to the Seattle Mariners after the season. This trade, while considered fair at the time, ended up being incredibly lopsided in favor of the Rays. With the Mariners, Smith regressed horribly, with his bat getting worse each year with the team. In 2019, Smith compiled a .227/.300/.335 batting line, along with the highest soft% of all major league batters (25%). Despite his struggles offensively, Smith managed to contribute to the Mariners with his speed, and he netted 46 stolen bases in 2019.

However, 2020 resulted in new career worsts for Smith, and his speed couldn’t make up for the deficiencies in his offense. Once he was outrighted off the Mariners roster, he had put together a measly .133/.170/.178 batting line. The Mets are hoping he can return to his 2018 form offensively. In the event that the Mets fail to land George Springer, Smith could find himself on the big league roster as a defensive replacement at the very least. If the Mets do sign Springer, Smith could still convince the Mets to bring him up as a fifth outfielder and backup center fielder, leaving Brandon Nimmo to backup the corner outfield spots, which he is better suited for.