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

2) Joey Meneses

Who’ll be this year’s Jose Iglesias? Players like him come around once in a generation. I give scouts credit. They have gotten a lot better than they were in the 1990s when it seemed every set of baseball cards with labels of “future star” included 99% busts. Snagging Iglesias last year on a minor league deal might’ve had more to do with a lack of interest from other teams than a lack of faith in his ability.

Joey Meneses isn’t quite in the same boat. A much smaller sample of success at the major league level, he didn’t debut until his age 30 season in 2022 as a member of the Washington Nationals. He hit .324 in the 240 plate appearances he had. The following season, in 657 trips to the plate, Meneses batted .275 with 36 doubles, 13 home runs, and 89 RBI.

Primarily a first baseman and DH with the ability to play some corner outfield, Meneses is a strong bat to have on the bench. Like Cabrera, he is only on a minor league deal.

Meneses spent his offseason playing in his home country of Mexico, smashing 10 home runs in 262 plate appearances while driving in 58. He boasted a .320/.386/.511 slash line. Among the league leaders or near in several offensive categories, he’ll be a nice veteran option to have on the roster should the team need a right-handed stick for an extended period of time.