Bruce

Maxwell

The 30-year-old catcher has a career .274 batting average in the minor leagues over nine seasons and has not played in the major leagues since 2018.

Maxwell, 29, was part of the Mets’ 60-man player pool in 2020, but he hasn’t played in the majors since 2018. Most likely, he’ll begin 2021 as minor league depth, assuming there’s a minor league season.

Maxwell arrived in New York on Monday for tests. Best known for becoming the first MLB player to kneel during the national anthem, the 29-year-old hasn’t appeared in affiliated baseball since the end of the 2018 season when he was let go by the Athletics. He pleaded guilty for disorderly conduct in April of 2018 as part of an incident in which he was accused of pointing a gun at a delivery person’s head. Maxwell will work out at the Mets’ alternate training site.

Slusser terms it a “minor-league” contract. Maxwell was outrighted off the A’s roster last September, having appeared in only 18 games at the major league level during the 2018 season and batting just .182/.207/.309 when he was around. He agreed to a plea deal last April for disorderly conduct after allegedly pointing a gun at a food delivery driver outside of his Scottsdale, Arizona home in October 2017.

Maxwell joins the big league club as Stephen Vogt is placed on family emergency medical leave. He was pummeling the baseball at Triple-A, slashing .321/.393/.539 with 10 homers and 41 RBI in 60 games. He’s in the lineup and making his first career start with the Athletics on Saturday.

The 25-year-old backstop has been tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A, slashing .321/.393/.539 with 10 homers and 41 RBI in 60 games. It’s unclear how he’ll be utilized in Oakland or what the corresponding move might be.

Maxwell contributed five hits Saturday including a pair of home runs. It was the first multi-homer game of Maxwell’s career. The 25-year-old has swatted 14 hits over his last five games while bumping his season average up from .267 to .315. 20 of Maxwell’s 58 hits this year have gone for extra bases.

Olson, who was called up last week, is 0-for-4 with three walks so far in the majors. Stephen Vogt will serve as the DH on Monday while Bruce Maxwell will start behind the dish and catch Jharel Cotton.

Serving as Stephen Vogt’s backup and in Josh Phegley’s absence, Maxwell is hitting .270 in 63 at-bats since being called up on July 23. He’s hoping to keep his gig next year, but that would probably take a trade of either Vogt or Phegley.

Drawing a start behind the dish, Maxwell swatted a pair of singles -- including a two-run hit in the second inning -- and also scored a run. He’s appeared in 21 games as Stephen Vogt’s backup this year, batting .271/.323/.339 in his first go-round in the majors.