The New York Mets have been looking for infield depth all season, and they'll give Christian Cairo a shot.
The New York Mets have claimed infielder Christian Cairo on waivers, just days after he was released by the Philadelphia Phillies, according to a report from Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com.
Cairo is yet another struggling prospect who’s making the rounds to try to regain his footing in MLB, with the Mets being willing to give him a shot. The 25-year old infielder was drafted in the fourth round by Cleveland back in 2019 (i.e., before they became the Guardians), as he was signed for an over-the-slot bonus of just under $1 million, according to Adams.
Cairo was added to the Phillies 40-man roster at the end of spring training, but that didn’t last long. He spent the entire season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he leads the league in walks with a walk rate that's actually higher than his strikeout rate.
Unfortunately, the infielder can’t hit. His slash line at Lehigh Valley was .227/.378/.298 batting line in 516 plate appearances, and he has just four homers, 15 double and a triple on the year. Cairo does have some speed, as he’s stolen 25 bases, but he’s also been caught 11 times.
His big strength is positional versatility. Cairo has played second, short, third and multiple outfield positions, so that plus his contact ability is what makes him attractive. He’s a plus defender at most of these positions, which makes him even more attractive to the Mets, especially given the way they’re shuffling bodies right now as the season draws to a close. The Mets have been taking a scattershot approach to finding defensive infield depth, with Cairo being the latest example of a player who’s apparently goint to get a tryout.
Cairo does have a pair of minor league options left beyond this year, which means that if he fields well he could stick around as a depth option in their system. But he’s also not a lock to survive the offseason, especially with the lockout on the horizon as the Mets look to retool.
The Mets won’t have to do any roster maneuvers to fit him in, as they already have a spot open. The player who was designated for assignment was reliever Chris Devenski, whose tendency for bad innings that go completely sideways made him expendable. That could happen to Cairo as well, as the Syracuse shuttle is in full swing with the number of games dwindling by the day.
