3 shrewd NY Mets roster additions you might have forgotten they made this offseason

Three phases have occurred this offseason for the New York Mets. There was the early part leading up to the signing of Juan Soto. There was the immediate aftermath of adding him, extending to the return of Sean Manaea. Right now, we’re living in a slow-moving period where MLB teams as a whole are finally beginning to pick up steam again.

Keeping a mental track of every move the Mets have made is a tedious endeavor I’m not sure anyone can accomplish without the aid of looking multiple places. Early masters of depth additions to the organization, these three shrewd Mets roster additions might have fallen on your fandom’s backburner. Let’s take a moment to remember each. 

1) Genesis Cabrera

The fact that the Mets were able to sign Genesis Cabrera, a 28-year-old lefty whose name you probably know, to a minor league deal is pretty amazing. He must’ve sucked last year. On the contrary, while down, the assumption should’ve been he got a major league contract from someone.

Cabrera spent the last year and a half with the Toronto Blue Jays following a trade to Canada at the 2023 trade deadline. The hard-throwing southpaw was quite different with Toronto. The exchange rate of strikeouts, apparently, took effect as he went from fanning batters at a rate of 9.4 per 9 in St. Louis to only 7.3 for the Blue Jays.

Strikeouts aren’t everything. Cabrera pitched to a 2.66 ERA in 2023 while with Toronto after getting hammered with a 5.06 ERA in St. Louis. Last year, his 3.59 ERA was below his career total of 3.89 and yet it can’t quite be classified as one of his better seasons. A drop off in strikeouts and his usual high walk rate led to a 5.13 FIP campaign.

Cabrera would’ve been a lackluster roster addition for the Mets if his deal guaranteed him a major league spot. Because no such promise has been made, this early free agent signing has such little risk and a pretty good reward.