Alejandro De Aza was no longer needed as a semi-regular once the Mets re-signed Yoenis Cespedes, leading to speculation that New York would try to move the veteran outfielder they signed to a one-year, $5.75 million deal.
However, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post the Mets are not shopping De Aza and “haven’t received calls about” him. That could change in a hurry, of course, but for now at least the Mets seem willing to go into the season with tons of outfield depth and see what happens.
In addition to De Aza basically being reduced to a left-handed bench bat the Mets also have center fielder Juan Lagares slated for, at most, a couple starts per week versus left-handed pitching. It’s a nice problem to have, but it’s also possible that the Mets could turn a spare outfielder into something more useful at another spot.
There are plenty of teams for which De Aza could be an upgrade playing regularly in a platoon role or even as a starter. Last season he hit .262 with seven homers and a .755 OPS in 114 games for three different teams and he’s topped a .700 OPS every year since 2010.
