NEW YORK — The Mets have finally found someone to take their money. They have a two-year deal with power-hitting infielder Eduardo Escobar, according to multiple reports.
Escobar was an All-Star for the Diamondbacks this year before getting traded to the Brewers.
The journeyman had 28 homers in 2021 and 35 in the previous full season, 2019, for Arizona.
He provides much-needed pop for a Mets lineup that nearly totally lost it outside of Pete Alonso last year.
The 32-year-old had an OPS of .800 in 146 games last year, 13% above league average. Only Alonso, Javier Baez, Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis had an OPS above .800 on last year’s punchless Mets.
Escobar figures to slot in ahead of the health- and defense-challenged Davis in the Mets’ infield, with one spot still open. That slot could be filled by Baez, or Jeff McNeil if Baez reaches a megabucks deal with the Tigers or Red Sox.
Escobar’s deal with the Mets is for $20 million, according to reports. He played at least one game at every infield position last year, primarily at second and third base, giving the Mets much-needed flexibility.
In an 11-year major league career, Escobar has played for four teams, mostly for the Twins and Diamondbacks. From 2011-16, he only totaled 25 homers, but his power bat seriously emerged in 2017, when he hit 21 home runs. He followed that with 23 and 35 dingers the next two years, and proved in 2021 that his 60-game down season in 2020 was the outlier.
