Joel Sherman of the New York Post the Mets should consider outfielder Ryan Raburn of the Cleveland Indians as a useful player that could help the Mets for the rest of this season and next.
Cleveland is in the market for young and controllable bats, he writes, and they are shopping Raburn and lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy. In return, the Mets could give up minor league infielders Gavin Cecchini or Matt Reynolds
One thing that Raburn can do that would please GM Sandy Alderson is the fact that he can take pitches. He’s averaging 4.34 per plate appearance which leads the majors among hitters with at least 125 plate appearances.
He also hits well vs lefties with a .940 OPS vs southpaws, something the Mets need to improve on given they have the fifth-worst OPS vs lefties with a .664.
Auburn also has a reasonable option worth $3 million for next season which would allow him to be a reasonable successor to disappointing John Mayberry Jr in 2016.
Sherman says that the one hangup for the Mets would be that Raburn is not as versatile as player like Ben Zobrist who the team covers for his ability to play both infield and outfield positions.
Raburn, 34, played multiple infield positions early in his career but now is mainly an outfielder.
If the Mets were to acquire an outfielder, they would probably want a lefty hitter who can play centerfield, says Sherman. One example would be Gerardo Parra.
Still, Raburn would be a welcomed addition because he would improve a very poor Mets bench and he can contribute right away if Michael Cuddyer goes on the DL with his knee issues.
This wouldn’t be the “big bat” the Mets are looking for, but if Jon Heyman, Nick Cafardo and Joel Sherman are right in their belief the Mets are looking to add two players at the deadline, this could be the less costlier of the two, and it’s a player Sandy Alderson has targeted in the past.
