Another former NY Mets player other than Mark Canha to make a non-guaranteed offer to

The New York Mets reportedly made a non-guaranteed contract offer to Mark Canha which essentially seems to translate into a minor league or split contract deal with an invite to camp. A highly popular player for his year and a half, more so for his attitude than performance on the field, he’s an aging veteran who found himself playing a lot more first base than outfield last season.

Canha had the unfortunate distinction of being traded by the Detroit Tigers to the San Francisco Giants in an attempt to bolster the latter’s playoff chances. Amazingly, his ex-team would make the playoffs and his new team came up short.

Canha hasn’t accepted the offer as he likely is hoping to get more of a guarantee. He’s not the only ex-Mets player worth making a similar offer to.

Drew Smith is worth re-signing on a non-guaranteed deal

Drew Smith had highs, lows, and a lot of in-betweens during his time with the Mets. Often injury prone, the big TJ (Tommy John surgery) struck him down in the middle of 2024 thus ending his year and for now is his tenure with the Mets. Unable to contribute for at least the first few months assuming he meets the typical criteria of being out for at least a full year to rehab, the Mets could do far worse than to have him buried on the depth chart.

A 3.48 ERA for his career, other peripherals suggest he was luckier than anything else. A much worse 4.36 FIP in parts of six seasons paints a much different picture.

Nevertheless, any sort of non-guaranteed deal comes with zero risk. Smith will have a tough time finding anyone to pay him to rehab especially with the 2025 season being in question altogether. Something similar to the Adbert Alzolay deal the Mets signed recently makes perfect sense. Have year one be a minor league deal with a rising total in 2026 if he pitches in the majors.

Necessary? Not in the least. But we’ve seen David Stearns operate with an eye for the future. Before going down for the year, Smith was striking out batters at a career-high rate of 11.7 per 9 while possessing a 3.06 ERA. The team has already brought back several of its most important free agents. Smith, stashed in the minors and on the IL, is one to think about.