According to Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay Times the Tampa Bay Rays have an agreement in place on a one-year deal with Steve Pearce, pending a physical. He says that Pearce will DH some while playing the first base and a little outfield against left-handed pitching.
Pearce struggled with the bat last year, hitting only .218/.289/.422 with 15 homeruns and 40 RBI while playing first base, second base, left field, and right field. Jon Heyman reported earlier this offseason that the Mets were looking at Pearce as a potential piece of the bench to compliment their left-hand heavy outfield. He is a career .262/.343/.481 hitter in 522 at bats vs. left handed pitching.
He had a career year in 2014 with the Baltimore Orioles hitting .293/.373/.556 with 26 doubles, 21 homeruns, and knocked in 49 runs. He also had a good year defensively making dim worth 1.5 dWAR and a career high 5.9 WAR overall.
Right-handed hitting bench options are now down to Ryan Raburn, Chris Denorfia, Marlon Byrd, and Austin Jackson if the Mets decide they need to add some more depth.
