The New York Mets made it official, announcing that Adrian Gonzalez passed his physical and making him available to answer some questions from beat writers in a conference call this afternoon.
Gonzalez, 36, will be paid the major league minimum of $540,000 while his former teams, the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, will pay the rest of the $22.3 million dollars he is owed for 2018.
A five time All Star, Gonzalez says he feels great and expects to be the first baseman when the Mets take the field on Opening Day. “I’m looking forward to doing everything I need to do so I can be healthy and I can be on the field.”
“Speaking to Sandy and speaking to Mickey, my role is going to be first baseman on the team and just be available off the bench and games I don’t start.”
Gonzalez also said that one of his key points going into spring training is to work with Dominic Smith on defense. He praised Smith on his “beautiful swing” and added, “I want to help him become the best major leaguer he can be in the future.”
With a batting line of .288/.359/.488 with a 128 wRC+ over the course of his 14-year career, Gonzalez was once one of the game’s most feared sluggers.
However, a degenerative back injury saw him bat just .242/.287/.355 with three home runs last season, and he soon found himself on the Dodgers’ bench finishing the year with a 69 wRC+ in 71 games.
The Mets are hoping Gonzalez can bounce back and add some punch to the middle of the lineup, and the veteran first baseman is up for the challenge.
“My role will be to help the team win. There is somewhat of a defined role as far as starting a good amount of games, but it’s not set in stone.”
