The New York Mets announced the signing of catcher/left fielder MJ Melendez to an unusual split contract that will actually pay him a lesser salary for his time in the major leagues, with the signings reported by Charlie Wright of MLBTradeRumors.com via Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
Melendez is basically a depth piece for the Mets given his unusual versatility, which gives him the ability to play as an outfielder, chip in at first base and function as an emergency catcher. The deal was originally announced as a $1.55 million deal with the potential for another $500,000 in incentives included.
Depth aside, the Mets are probably drawn by Melendez’s numbers at Triple A Omaha, which is the affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Melendez broke camp with the Royals, but he had just five hits in 65 plate appearances, so he was sent down, and the Royals elected to non-tender him rather than pay the projected $2.65 million he would have been due in arbitration, according to Wright.
The 27-year old Melendez is a former Top 100 prospect, however, and he did post a slash line of .261/.323/.490 with 20 homers and 20 steals over 480 plate appearances at Omaha last season. His arbitration status is now that of a Super Two player, which means he’s under team control through the 2029 season should the Mets want to go there repeatedly.
There’s also a “change of scenery” component to this signing for the Mets, but even though it’s a relatively inexpensive deal the amount the Mets will actually be paying out basically double his listed salary due to their luxury tax status.
The signing also reflects a sense of urgency with spring training fast approaching. The Mets still don’t know who will be playing left field, with prospect Carson Benge being given a chance to make the club and third baseman Brett Baty possibly shifting to the outfield.
It will be interesting to see if Mets GM David Stearns can make another deal in the next week or so with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report soon. He also has a logjam at the back of the rotation with multiple pitchers who were ineffective in the second half of the season, and at this point it feels like a deal needs to be made.
As for Melendez, it will be interesting to see where he ends up to start the season, especially given his experience last season in Kansas City. It does sound like he could be riding the Syracuse shuttle this season, and it also seems like the Mets would be fine with that provided he can continue to be available.