At the 100-game mark, the New York Mets are surprisingly 52-48 and currently in the final wild-card spot. With the recent success, president of baseball operations David Stearns has been working to upgrade a roster that seemed destined to go nowhere in May.
Already, Stearns has upgraded the bullpen by trading for Matt Gage and Phil Maton, while claiming Alex Young off waivers and adding some depth to the catching position by signing Logan Porter.
Now, the Mets have added outfield depth by inking a former gold glove winner to a minor league contract.
The Mets have signed Jackie Bradley Jr. to a minor-league contract
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have signed outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to a minor league contract and have assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse.
Bradley Jr. had previously been playing for the Independent Long Island Ducks, where in 40 games, the 34-year-old had produced an otherworldly slash line of .400/.476/.727 with a 1.204 OPS while hitting 12 home runs and driving in 35 runs.
The Virginia native has played in 1181 big league games across 11 seasons while producing a .225/.303/.381 slash line alongside 109 home runs and 449 RBIs. Bradley Jr. has been known as one of the game’s best defensive outfielders, playing all three positions and winning the Gold Glove in 2018.
The 34-year-old also made an all-star game in 2016 and won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 while winning the American League Championship Series MVP that same season.
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What does this mean for the Mets?
While the Mets’ major league outfield currently has plenty of depth, Triple-A Syracuse has been lacking that since Trayce Thompson’s exit and Ben Gamel’s call-up. Adding Bradley Jr. to the roster will return some of that depth while also giving the blue and orange a viable option to call up when necessary.
Time will tell if Bradley Jr. gets called up by the Mets, but if he continues to hit like he did in Independent ball it will be hard for the organization not to.
