Within the past day, the New York Mets have signed two players on minor league contracts. Last night, it was announced that they signed right-handed pitcher, Humberto Mejia. Earlier today, they agreed to a deal bringing back catcher Michael Perez.
- Mets could sign veteran catcher to help spell for the injured Francisco Alvarez
- The Mets are expecting a six-time all-star to join the team on Friday
- The Mets’ young catcher is set to be out for two months
Mets add RHP Humberto Mejia and C Michael Perez to minor league contracts:
Starting with Mejia, he is still very young, as he turns 26 in March. He has a ton of size, listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. His MLB experience, however, is very limited. Mejia has played just two MLB seasons, in 2020 and 2021. Over those two years, he totaled eight appearances, finishing with an 0-5 record, a 6.68 ERA, and a .399 opponent batting average, less than ideal.
Mejia is, however just a low-level depth signing for the Mets at this point in time. There is, with his youth and size, some reason to hope for some growth with some more experience. His noteworthy pitch is his curveball.
Then, with Perez, the Mets do not have a need for a catcher with Tomas Nido, Omar Narvaez, and Francisco Alvarez, but add some depth to the minor leagues with someone they know. He is 30 years old with five years of MLB experience and spent some brief time with the Mets in 2022 but hit just .143. Perez is a career .174 hitter.
Perez had to appear in six games for the Mets last year due to some injuries. This year, with an improved group from top to bottom of Narvaez, Nido, and Alvarez, the left-handed bat in Perez should likely not be needed.