Former top Braves prospect gets another chance on the NY Mets depth chart

The New York Mets have made a notable depth addition, as they’ve signed former top-ten prospect Cristian Pache to a minor league contract. Known for his defensive abilities, it’s unsurprising that David Stearns added depth who can provide plus fielding at all three outfield positions. The Mets should also be familiar with him, as he is best known for his days as a prospect in the Atlanta Braves’ farm system. Pache spent the 2025 season in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ system.

His numbers at Triple-A were nothing to write home about, as he hit .251/.351/.389 with an 80 wRC+ over 288 plate appearances. Pache had a healthy 11.8% walk rate, but also struck out 26.7% of the time with a 29% whiff rate. The outfielder also did not hit for much power, with five home runs, an .138 isolated slugging percentage, and a barrel rate of just 4.8%. He also did not appear in the Major Leagues this season.

However, Pache appeared in parts of the previous five MLB seasons from 2020 through 2024 with five different teams. His results at the plate were horrendous, as he slashed just .181/.243/.275 with a .232 wOBA, and a wRC+ of 46. He hit just seven homers in 610 plate appearances, and struck out over 30% of the time (30.8%). Pache also had a below-average 7.2% walk rate. However, his hitting was never what he was known for as a prospect. It was his defense, and that has developed as well as anyone could have hoped for.

Mets add an elite defender in former top ten prospect, Cristan Pache on a minor league deal.

In 1503.1 career innings between all three outfield positions, Pache has +8 defensive runs saved and +15 outs above average. He has also been above the 90th percentile of arm strength every year since Baseball Savant began putting it in their rankings in 2021. In 2024, he was among the best when it came to his jump on flyballs that were hit his way, but graded out poorly in terms of route running.

Pache was once one of baseball’s premier prospects. Heading into 2021, when he was still in the Braves’ system, Baseball America ranked him as the seventh-best prospect in baseball. He was then included as a main piece in the trade that netted Atlanta star first baseman Matt Olson from the A’s. But, as evident with his constant bouncing around from team to team and his poor results in the Major Leagues, he hasn’t lived up to that sort of hype yet.

Pache could still serve as a solid depth option for the Mets. While he may provide very little with the bat, he is an elite defensive outfielder who is definitely not slow, either. Stearns consistently prioritizes run prevention, and Pache does a good job at letting runs leak out via poor defense. Pache will likely start the year at Triple-A Syracuse, given that he signed a non-guaranteed deal with an invite to Spring Training.