February 23 – The Mets have announced they’ve signed first baseman Rhyne Hughes to a minor league contract and that he will report to minor league camp.
Hughes, 29, played 75 games for Double-A Bowie in the Baltimore Orioles system last season. The left-handed hitting Hughes batted .278/.370 OBP/.504 with 19 doubles, 13 home runs and 51 RBI in 313 plate appearances. His only sip of coffee in the majors came in 2010 when he batted .213 in 14 games with the O’s.
Initially drafted in the 50th round of the 2003 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hughes declined to sign with them and was drafted the following year in the 8th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.
He has played some right field in the minors, 73 games, and that could be why the Mets were interested But it would take a parting of the Red Sea for him to be anything more than just minor league filler at this point.
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February 22 – The Mets announced that they’ve signed right-hander Andy Wells and outfielder James Roche to minor league deals on Wednesday. Both played in the independent Atlantic League last season and will report to minor league camp. Wells went to Staten Island’s Wagner College os it’s a good bet that he knows what a knish is. Other than that, I know absolutely nothing about these two, and I’ll try and dig something up later today.
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February 22 – In more significant news, the Mets have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-handed reliever Justin Hampson who I’m personally glad to see back. The 32-year-old had a solid campaign with Triple-A Buffalo last season, tossing 65 innings in 51 appearances, while posting a 2.33 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and an 8.1 strikeout rate. In a brief appearance with the Mets, Hampson posted a 1.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 15 appearances out of the pen. He’s going to be useful working with our youngsters in the minors and will provide some quality depth for the Mets bullpen once fatigue and injuries set in – and you know they always do. Welcome back, Justin.
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February 22 – Wally Backman is always thinking ahead. Yesterday he told Jared Diamond of The Journal that he’s concerned about keeping his players on the straight-and-narrow while playing in Sin City. “Guys are going to go out, go to the casinos and lose their money,” Backman said. Their money might not be the only thing they lose in Vegas. (I know, bad joke, so shoot me.)
