The Mets announced on Monday afternoon that the club inked veteran reliever Hunter Strickland to a minor league contract and plan to add him to the 2020 player pool.
Strickland, 31, was released by the Nationals in mid-March after allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings during spring training. The right-hander is coming off of a horrific 2019 showing in which he yielded 15 runs over 24 1/3 frames. It’s been a rough year and a half.
If Strickland can rediscover his mojo, he could be a serviceable bullpen arm for the Mets. From 2015-18 with the Giants, Strickland posted an even 3.00 ERA, though he struggled with control in those more recent seasons. The Mets had the fifth-worst bullpen ERA in baseball last year at 4.99.
Along with Strickland, the Mets also signed Melky Cabrera and Gordon Beckham to minor league deals on Monday.
