UPDATE: Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports that it’s a one-year, $4.5 million deal for De Aza, who made $5 million in 2015.
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Free agent outfielder Alejandro De Aza is “close” to signing with the Mets, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.
De Aza isn’t a household name and has bounced around a lot, but his production has consistently been very solid and compares well to some other free agent outfielders likely to get significantly more money.
He’s a good defensive corner outfielder capable of playing center field in a pinch and is a career .267 hitter with a .736 OPS in 680 games through age 31, including hitting .262 with seven homers and a .755 OPS in 114 games for the Orioles, Red Sox, and Giants in 2015.
Much of what the Mets have done--or haven’t done--this offseason suggests a focus on adding quality depth following a year in which they were left short-handed by injuries in several key instances and De Aza certainly fits that same mold. He’s not a headline-grabber, but he’s a decent left-handed hitter with some defensive versatility and the price tag figures to be reasonable.
