The two new position players added to the New York Mets major league roster in Todd Frazier and Adrian Gonzalez reported to camp on Friday afternoon and talked to the media.
Frazier, 32, signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Mets on Feb. 7 to make his return to New York after finishing the 2017 season with the Yankees. Frazier talking to media today, “Good to be down here in sunny Florida, meeting some new guys and talking shop. It’s baseball time, so it’s good. That lingo coming back, meeting the new coaching staff and players.”
The right-handed hitting third baseman hit .213/.344/.428 with 19 doubles, 27 home runs, 76 RBI, 105 OPS and 3.4 WAR. He also tied a career-high with 10 DRS saved on defense, a huge boost on a position that was a black hole defensively in 2017.
Another new face in Port St. Lucie on Thursday was veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The Mets signed him earlier this offseason for the major league minimum after a 2017 season in which he hit only .242/.287/.355 for the Dodgers combined with poor defense.
Part of the reasoning behind the Gonzalez signing has said to be his mentoring of Dominic Smith. Gonzalez said on Thursday that his back isn’t bothering him. He also noted he likes the mentorship role and takes it seriously he said when asked about Smith.
Frazier finished with saying he doesn’t know everyone in the clubhouse yet and is bad with names so he will just call everyone, “Big Dog.”
