The New York Mets had serious talks with the Cleveland Indians about second baseman Jason Kipnis this week according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Chris also states that there is traction in talks and Kipnis looks like a better fit than Ian Kinsler was.
Kipnis, 30, hit to a .232/.291/.414 clip in 373 plate appearances last season while also getting his first big league exposure to center field. He played in only 90 games in 2017 because of lingering hamstring issues.
For his career, Kipnis is a .268/.340/.422 hitter in 3,737 plate appearances with 88 long balls and 389 RBI. In his last full season in 2016, he also had a 116 wRC+ and a .347 wOBA.
In 620 innings at the keystone in 2017, Kipnis had seven errors with -2 DRS and a -1.5 UZR. However, the year prior his advanced metrics were better, with 4 DRS and a 7.3 UZR in 1,309 innings.
Kipnis has either two years at $30.5 million or (if his 2020 option is picked up) three years at $44.5 million left on his contract.
The Mets missed out on second base target Ian Kinsler when he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.
