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December 11, 2014 14-15 Offseason Joe Janish

Mets Go To Mayberry

No, they didn’t go to interview Sheriff Andy Griffith for a security position at Citi Field. And Gomer Pyle didn’t change their oil.

Rather, the Mets have signed John Mayberry, Jr. to a one-year, $1.45M Major League contract.

This may not be the signing that pushes you to buy a season-ticket plan. But it is a decent signing, and Mayberry fits what the Mets were looking for: a cheap, ordinary righthanded hitter who won’t embarrass himself in an outfield corner when Michael Cuddyer plays first base against lefthanded pitchers. The way I see it, Mayberry is likely to provide more production than Chris Young did last year, for almost $6M less.

Thoughts?

There’s been a ton of other news in the past day, and I’ll try to get to all of it.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. david December 11, 2014 at 9:55 pm
    I am going to go out on a limb here and predict the Mets deal for Tulowitzki before openinig day, and probably in late December. Sure he comes with risk and a big price tag, but no risk / no reward and salaries are going up, not coming down.

    If Sandy can bring himself to do this – and F Wilpon can steer some money away from his son’s legal defense team and to the team’s payroll – it would solve a couple of key weaknesses. One, it gives them a bona fide shortsop. Two it gives them a middle of the bat presence. Third and maybe most importantly for Fred, it gives them a box office draw that will put fannies on seats and generate some Buzz around what everyone describes as a moribound franchise. I mean, does Fred Wilpon really want his legacy to be a foolish investor / tightwad owner / indulgent Daddy who allowed his son to tarnish one of the world’s great sports franchises (look it up, by value the Mets are still “up there”)?

    Yes, I know this is ambitious. Fortune still favors the brave.

    • argonbunnies December 12, 2014 at 5:50 am
      Rockies claim they aren’t looking to deal Tulo. Presumably, the Mets would have to blow them away. Would you want to deal Harvey+?

      Of course Fred wants a middle of the order bat, SS, and marquee name. But he won’t trade his best players AND add salary to get it.

  2. argonbunnies December 12, 2014 at 5:45 am
    Ugh. More cheapness. They found a way to not spend on someone like Gomes who would actually be an improvement over Campbell. Mayberry is not. Watching him over the years with the Phillies, he appears to be a bad defender who can’t hit a fastball. The stats say his D is worse than bad and he rarely gets on base against anyone. His one strength is that when he gets a hanging curve from a lefty, he can hit it into the seats.

    Would have been a fine minor league signing, but as is, seems like a waste of a roster spot to me.

    I know Cesar Puello is unlikely to pan out, but I’d give him a shot over Mayberry — he’d bring better defense and probably get on base more thanks to all the HBPs.

    • DaveSchneck December 13, 2014 at 12:05 am
      Bunnies,
      My understanding is that Puello is out of options but will get a chance to make the big team in the spring, so long as he doesn’t become a casualty of the 40 man roster. It is hard to envision a guy who never played in the bigs coming off a bad AAA year making the team as a 5th OF, but I fear that another team will grab him and he’ll be an all-star 3 years from now.
      • argonbunnies December 13, 2014 at 6:20 am
        That was my understanding too — that Puello would get a chance to make the big team in the spring — until they signed Mayberry.

        I don’t see any way the Mets carry both of them, and I don’t see any way they sign a veteran to an MLB deal and then cut him in spring training.

        The only way Mayberry doesn’t take Puello’s chance at a spot is if John gets injured.

  3. DanIn NYC December 12, 2014 at 10:06 am
    Remember when the Mets used to be a big market team?

    Yeah, neither can I.

    • Dan42 December 13, 2014 at 6:57 am
      Not since they left Shea for the bright lights, unprecedented amenities and comfort featured at Citi Field.