NY Mets minor leaguer who hit nearly .400 in the Winter League is leaving for Japan

How much weight do we put into Winter League numbers? The Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League thinks those numbers matter at least a little bit. They’re reportedly signing Edward Olivares who, on December 6 of last month, signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.

A down year with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season featuring a .224/.291/.333 slash line, Olivares had two far better seasons in 2022 and 2023. He batted .286/.333/.410 in 2022 for the Kansas City Royals, earning himself a chance to receive a career-high 385 plate appearances in 2023. He made the most of it, batting .263/.317/.452 with 12 home runs.

Olivares was never meant to be more than minor league outfield depth for the Mets. An emergency option in case of injury, the Mets will now need to look elsewhere for the added veteran depth because apparently the 28-year-old’s performance in Venezuela this winter was too good for the Buffaloes to pass on. He is reportedly signing a deal with them.

Edward Olivares hit his way out of the Mets organization and into what should be a better opportunity in Japan

In 98 plate appearances this winter, Olivares slashed .390/.469/.659 with 4 home runs and 10 doubles. It was a productive 21 games in his home country. A move to Japan will be his opportunity to face arguably better competition than he would in Triple-A for the Mets.

Where does this leave New York’s depth chart? Jose Azocar is still on the 40-man roster but without options he’s a definite DFA candidate in the near future. Veteran Rafael Ortega rejoined the organization and should provide them with an alternative option to Olivares. Drew Gilbert also exists and while he is much different than those veterans with MLB experience, a spot in the outfield for the Mets in some capacity feels like a must for him in 2025.

The loss of Olivares, however minor it may be, does leave them with fewer right-handed hitting outfield options near MLB-ready. There isn’t a single right-handed hitting outfielder on the team’s depth chart projected to begin the year in the minors. There are players like Luke Ritter who qualify more as utility guys. However, the organization lacks a veteran.

Expect the Mets to quietly make some sort of addition to safeguard against any need in center field for a prolonged period of time. A player such as Michael A. Taylor coming off of a rocky season in the major leagues would be near the top of the list of options although one would have to imagine a team should be willing to shell out $1-2 million to guarantee him a major league spot to be a bench role player.