New York Mets Roster
- NL East
- Stadium
- Citi Field
The New York Mets and National League batting champion Jeff McNeil agreed to a four-year, $50 million contract extension on Friday, according to sources familiar with the deal. The contract includes a fifth-year team option that could take the total value of the deal to $63.75 million. Not only can McNeil hit, but he can also play second base, third base and the outfield, giving the Mets positional flexibility. The 30-year-old slashed .326/.382/.454 with an .836 OPS, nine home runs, 62 RBI, 73 runs scored and four stolen bases in a career-high 589 plate appearances and 148 games to earn his second career All-Star bid in 2022. McNeil won't supply fantasy managers with much power -- only one season with 20-plus homers -- but he's an excellent source of average, contact and on-base percentage in one of the best lineups in baseball.
The New York Mets re-signed catcher Michael Perez to a minor-league deal on Thursday. Perez came to the Mets in a midseason trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022 and played in only six games for New York, going 2-for-14 with no homers, three RBI and two runs scored. In total, he slashed just .149/.214/.298 with a .511 OPS, six home runs, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored and a stolen base in 132 plate appearances over 45 games. The 30-year-old will give the Mets additional catching depth for the 2023 season behind catchers Omar Narvaez, Francisco Alvarez and Tomas Nido. Perez is far from the fantasy radar and has a career slash line of .174/.244/.301 with a .545 OPS and 15 home runs in five major-league seasons.
New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte's (core) status for spring training is up in the air following core-muscle surgery last November. "It has not yet been determined which of those tracks Marte is gonna be on, but it should be determined early next month," SNY's Andy Martino said. "It's likely that Marte is gonna spend some time with the Mets' medical staff and the training staff and figure out where he's at coming back from that core surgery." It means that Marte may not be ready for Opening Day, but we'll know more next month. It was already announced earlier this month that he won't play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The 34-year-old veteran also missed the last month of the regular season with a hand injury, but Marte played well in his first year in Queens when healthy, slashing .292/.347/.468 with an .814 OPS, 16 home runs, 63 RBI, 76 runs and 18 stolen bases in 118 games.
The New York Mets have been big spenders, but they also remain committed to the idea of building from within long term. Top prospects Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty don't seem to have a very good chance to make this year's Opening Day roster, but the team is reluctant to trade them. The Miami Marlins have tried multiple times to acquire Baty and were prepared to offer one of their young starters in return. The Marlins came close to landing Brendan Rodgers from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for starter Edward Cabrera, but it ultimately fell through. Alvarez and Baty are both highly attractive in dynasty/keeper leagues and could also be worth stashing in deep mixed leagues in 2023. Alvarez has the better shot to crack the Opening Day roster because of his ability to play both catcher and outfield.
The New York Mets and catcher Tomas Nido agreed to a two-year, $3.7 million deal on Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the deal. The contract covers Nido's remaining arbitration-eligible years and will pay him $1.6 million in 2023 and $2.1 million in 2024. The 28-year-old backstop hit .239/.276/.324 with a .600 OPS, three home runs, 28 RBI and 31 runs scored in 313 plate appearances and a career-high 98 games for the New York Mets in a backup role in 2022. Nido will be the team's No. 3 catcher this year behind Omar Narvaez and prospect Francisco Alvarez, so he will carry virtually zero fantasy appeal unless there is an injury ahead of him.
