$15 million NY Mets free agent bust surprises no one with his latest contract

What’s the worst free agent signing of the Steve Cohen era? There shouldn’t be much of a debate. Washing $15 million down the drain to get as little as the New York Mets did from Omar Narvaez tops the list.

The real mistake the Mets made with Narvaez was giving him a player option for 2024. Signed after a down year with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022, he was a decent pickup to help transition until Francisco Alvarez was ready. An early season injury sidelined Narvaez and the numbers cratered. He hit only .211/.283/.297 with the Mets in 2023 in 146 plate appearances. Last year, in 69 chances, he hit .154/.191/.185. Far worse was his complete lack of ability to throw out base runners. He had two caught stealing credited to him, one as you may recall came on a pickoff where he didn’t even touch the ball.

You might think such a bad year would have knocked Narvaez out of the league entirely. Well, the Chicago White Sox coming off of a historically bad season thought enough of Narvaez to agree to a minor league deal.

What happened to Omar Narvaez after he was DFA’d by the Mets last year?

Narvaez was one of several roster casualties in late May for the Mets who looked dead in the water. An absent bat and unusable behind the plate, he was picked up by the Houston Astros on a minor league deal. He never would make it back to the majors last year, spending 42 games and receiving 169 chances to hit for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Against Triple-A pitching, Narvaez further proved the Mets were mistaken by ever adding him in the first place.

A .196/.325/.304 slash line with 4 doubles and 3 home runs was the output Narvaez delivered. He wasn’t a disaster behind the plate, throwing out 21% of attempted base thieves.

Expectations for the White Sox this coming season remain low, leaving open the possibility of a big league return for Narvaez in some capacity. They might even have some level of patience with him. Veteran Martin Maldonado had 147 plate appearances and hit .119/.174/.230 in 2024. He threw out 7% of attempted base stealers, 3 of 42 attempts. The bar was set pretty low and this minor league signing by the White Sox suggests they’re not about to raise it.