One of new Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s first moves this winter was acquiring outfielder Keon Broxton from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Broxton, 29, was a player who had shown flashes of offensive spark at the plate by hitting 20 home runs in 2017, as well as showing off his defensive prowess in the field in 2018 (13 DRS, 8.8 UZR in 194.0 innings).

Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t pay off and Broxton was sent to the Baltimore Orioles in a trade earlier this week.

However, the Mets wasted no time by replacing Broxton with another low-risk, high reward outfielder. On Thursday, they claimed 28-year-old Aaron Altherr off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. He is slated to join the team in New York this weekend.

Altherr, a longtime Philadelphia Phillie, had a rough 2018 campaign and was scooped off waivers earlier this year by the Giants.

With Broxton gone and the Mets enduring a string of injuries to their outfield corps, Altherr will be the latest addition to the team who will look to prove he can be a contributor.

Hopefully for New York, he gives them 2017 Aaron Altherr and not 2018 Altherr.

In 2017, Altherr had the best year of his career, hitting to a robust .359 wOBA and 121 wRC+ while launching 19 home runs and logging a .856 OPS.

Last night was a very good sign for the outfielder as in his very first at-bat coming off the bench as a pinch hitter, Altherr took a 1-0 pitch from Buck Farmer to deep left field and over the wall for a solo home run.

In the field, the Germany-born outfielder provides above average defense. In over 2,000 innings in the outfield, he has seven DRS and a UZR of 2.6.

This week alone, New York has seen both Carlos Gomez and Rajai Davis get called up due to injury or roster moves and provide big hits off the bench.

Altherr has some pop and will look to provide a similar spark. He will likely get an extended look upon joining the team as well, as Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are all on the injured list at the moment.

For the Mets, Altherr is an interesting talent. If he can give them what he gave the Phillies in 2017, they will have found a diamond in the rough. If not, it was a low-risk move to begin with.