NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 unpopular David Stearns decisions that went badly

4) Signing of Joey Wendle

The Mets bought low on Joey Wendle, a former All-Star who hit .212 the year before signing a cheap $2 million deal to be a bench piece. He wasn’t all that far removed from being a decent hitter. Nevertheless, he ended up performing about as badly as the dice in a game of Strat-O-Matic would have predicted.

Hitting a light .222 with only one extra-base hit, Wendle’s biggest issue with the Mets was not performing well defensively. He was meant to provide them with stability at third base while they tried to figure things out with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos. He made 2 errors in only 7 chances at the hot corner and another at second base in 24 tries. There was no point in keeping him around. Unable to cut it as a defensive player off the bench who’d at least field ground balls cleanly, Wendle was released about a week before the end of May tear down.

Fans don’t generally have big emotions about the addition of players like Wendle. However, some recent examples did come with greater accolades. Kevin Pillar for the outfield and Jonathan Villar for the infield in recent years prior were viewed far more favorably. Each ended up having to play a lot more than expected. Fortunately, they did far better than Wendle did.

After all that happened in 2024, it’s almost easy to forget Wendle was ever here. Gone before Jorge Lopez even threw his glove into the stands, Wendle was an unpopular free agent signing made more so by the fact he shared the Opening Day roster with Zack Short, a younger and less expensive player with a similar profile. Neither made it through the first two months of the year. We could’ve predicted that with our eyes closed.