The Mets have spoken with free agent OF Adam Jones at the Winter Meetings, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post.
The 33-year-old Jones hit .281/.313/.419 with 15 homers in 145 games for the Orioles in 2018 as his slugging percentage dropped to the lowest it has been since 2008, during what was his first full year in the majors.
Meanwhile, Jones' defense in center field continued to decline in 2018, with him worth -18 DRS in 906.2 innings in center field and -6 DRS in 272.2 innings in right field.
In search of a right-handed hitting outfielder, the Mets have also been connected to CF A.J. Pollock, who is reportedly seeking a deal worth roughly $80 million over five years.
Another right-handed hitting outfield option came off the board on Tuesday, when Andrew McCutchen signed a three-year deal with the Phillies worth $50 million.
Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |
With Jones in decline on both sides of the ball, and the Mets preferring to keep Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo in corner outfield spots, it's hard to see Jones as a good fit.
If Jones is asked to play center field for the Mets, where he was one of the worst fielders in baseball in 2018 after being well below average there in 2017 and 2016, he would almost certainly be a worse option there than Nimmo, who was worth -2 DRS there in 350.1 innings in 2018.
If Jones is asked to play a corner outfield position for the Mets, it would mean that they are either playing Nimmo in center field (where they would rather not play him) or that one of Nimmo or Conforto was traded. If the latter is the case, the Mets would be asking Jones to take the place of a player he was much worse than in 2018 both offensively and defensively.
In other words, Jones on the Mets doesn't make much sense.