The New York Mets have bolstered their outfield depth for next season as they announced a one-year deal with Alejandro De Aza.
On Tuesday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the agreement between De Aza and the Mets, noting the team plans to use him and Juan Lagares in center field.
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the deal is worth $5.75 million with $1.25 million in incentives.
De Aza played for three teams last season, playing a total of 114 games with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. The 31-year-old hit .262/.333/.422 with 31 extra-base hits.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted De Aza‘s addition should end any speculation about the Mets re-signing Yoenis Cespedes, adding the team was “never serious” about doing it.
One player the Mets reportedly had a lot of interest in before signing De Aza was Denard Span. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick wrote Monday that Span was the “preferred choice” if all things were equal.
However, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported the Mets had concerns about the health of Span after he had season-ending hip surgery last August. Puma also noted they didn’t want to commit multiple years on a deal to Span or Gerardo Parra.
Even though De Aza isn’t the blockbuster signing Mets fans likely hoped for, he’s not a bad low-cost alternative. He had an above-average 104 OPS+ last season, and he had positive defensive-runs saved totals in center field from 2012 to 2014, before spending most of last year in the two corner spots.
Lagares is an outstanding defensive center fielder who has a .297 career on-base percentage, so the Mets can deploy him as a late-inning replacement for De Aza when they have a lead to avoid relying on his bat.
Given the strength of the Mets’ starting rotation, they aren’t going to need a lot of offense to win games next season. De Aza is a capable hitter and defensive player who fits this roster heading into 2016.
Stats per Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.
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