At the Mets holiday party on Tuesday, general manager Sandy Alderson explained why he targeted John Mayberry Jr. for the team. With the quotes courtesy of ESPN’s Adam Rubin, here’s what he said.
“We weren’t very good against left-handed pitching last year,” Alderson said. “I think we had one of the lowest OPS numbers in the National League, if not the entire game.”
“Signing Michael Cuddyer was part of addressing that problem. Mayberry? Similar motivation. We need somebody potentially to play against left-handed pitching, to come off the bench against left-handed [relief] pitching, and just help us be a little more balanced in that way. And he was prepared to accept the role, which is a big part of it. So we’re happy to have him. He has an excellent record against lefties over his career.”
Rubin points out the Mets had a .633 OPS against left-handed pitching last season, second-worst in the majors.
Mayberry, 31, has a .269/.324/.533 slash with 30 homers in 490 career at-bats against LHP, mostly compiled at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park.
He signed a one-year deal with the Mets which is worth a guaranteed $1.45 million.
Mayberry has performance bonuses built into his contract that total an additional $500,000 based on plate appearances.
He will earn $50,000 each for 200 plate appearances, and each additional 50 through 450, and $100,000 apiece for 500 and 550.
