The Mets entered this offseason with many personnel decisions, and one of the larger ones was who would be playing third base come Opening Day.
At the winter meetings, new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said they planned to keep the third base job in-house.
“I think it is important for us as an organization to learn about our younger players and to provide them with opportunity at the major league level,” Stearns said.“That doesn’t have to be all on Opening Day, but over the course of the year, we’ve got to learn about these guys.”
However, that plan had a wrench put in it a few weeks back when Ronny Mauricio suffered a torn ACL during a Dominican Winter League game.
With Mauricio now out, plans have likely changed for the 2024 campaign, and according to Will Sammon of the Athletic, the Mets are interested in a former Yankee third baseman.
The Mets are interested in Gio Urshela.
According to Sammon, the Mets are interested in the former Yankees fan-favorite third baseman.
After starting his career with the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, Gio Urshela spent four successful seasons in the Yankees organization before being dealt alongside Gary Sánchez to the Minnesota Twins in the infamous Josh Donaldson deal.
Urshela spent 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, where he was pretty successful in 62 games. The Columbia native slashed .299/.329/.374 with two home runs and 24 RBIs before a left pelvis fracture required surgery and cost him the rest of the campaign.
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Should the Mets sign Urshela?
Signing Urshela would be an excellent move for the blue and orange.
The 32-year-old is a solid contact hitter who can still hit the long ball and effectively play multiple positions (first base, third base, and shortstop).
The Columbia native has proven he has the talent to be an effective everyday player and can handle the pressure of New York during his time with the Yankees.
If Urshela is willing to come to New York on an affordable deal, he could be the perfect veteran for a Mets squad retooling in 2024 and looking to win it all in 2025.