MJ Melendez: D+
The last of the Mets free agent signings on a major league deal still with the team is MJ Melendez. He’s on a split contract with a minor league option left so you can’t really hate anything about it. Nevertheless, it’s a strange fit with his history of playing poor defense and coming off a year where he hit .083 in limited big league at-bats.
Melendez can be a fun player when things are going well. He mashes baseballs. He can catch for you in a pinch. In a world in which the Mets want to DH Francisco Alvarez, he’ll be good to have around.
Realistically, how much can we actually expect to get out of Melendez? Power with a batting average in the low .200s isn’t what it used to be. He’s kind of a repeat of Jared Young and an inferior overall player in comparison to Mike Tauchman. The minor league option is useful, but Young already has one. The only edge Melendez has is the big league experience.
Not all of the signings can get proudly displayed on the fridge. This one won’t change the direction of the season. There is some cleverness to it. Melendez is a bit of a case of already knowing what there is he can offer. He might have one big hit all year. The decider with this free agent will be if the Mets overuse him or not. If so, we might really hate it.
