3 ex-Yankees who signed this week we're glad the Mets avoided

3) The Mets were right to pass on Joey Gallo

We’re going to see Joey Gallo a bit this year. The lab-created and exaggerated version of Dave Kingman and Adam Dunn, Gallo signed a one-year deal worth $5 million to hit below .200 with the Washington Nationals while occasionally popping a home run.

Gallo hasn’t been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. The two-time All-Star had to settle because the last time he finished a year hitting over .200 was in 2019. In fact, that’s his lone season of any length with a batting average above .210.

Recreating the Daniel Vogelbach problem from last year in some ways, Gallo could have at least provided the Mets with some defensive innings. A guy who actually won a pair of Gold Gloves, he’s transitioning into more of a first baseman at this point, but can still offer the Nationals starts in the outfield.

The idea of the Mets using Mark Vientos and DJ Stewart as the DH is frustrating. Worse would have been spending this kind of money on Gallo. The contract he did get from Washington isn’t significant and yet with the alleged budgetary constraints the Mets are under for the remainder of the offseason, it would have been a wasteful amount to pay for a guy who’ll hit below the Mendoza Line.

Fortunately, there was never a whiff of the Mets being rumored to have interest in him. Now, let’s just cross our fingers and hope he doesn’t become one of those guys who ends up killing the Mets.