Prior to the Red Sox signing Moreland this afternoon, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe said the Mets were another team that may have expressed interest in the first baseman.
Building off that, James Wagner of the New York Times tweeted that the Mets will at least consider recently released Adrian Gonzalez as an option for first base.
So it appears as though the Mets are still in the market for a first baseman. While Gonzalez wouldn’t be ideal, there’s no harm in bringing him to Spring Training.
However, bringing in Gonzalez cannot be the Mets only other move this offseason.
Original report – 4:30 p.m.
After acquiring Adrian Gonzalez in Saturday’s trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first baseman has been released by the Atlanta Braves in an expected move.
Gonzalez, 35, was traded to the Dodgers in 2012 and has been with them since. However, this past year was a rough one for A-Gon, as he appeared in just 71 games, hitting three home runs and driving in 30 while hitting to a .242/.287/.355 slash line in 252 plate appearances.
The five-time All-Star was simply cut by Atlanta, who already have Freddie Freeman as their everyday first baseman.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the trade was effectively cash neutral, but helped the Dodgers get below the $197 million luxury tax threshold. He also added that Gonzalez would be designated for assignment by the Braves, enabling him to become a free agent.
***
The Boston Red Sox have also signed first baseman Mitch Moreland to a two-year deal reportedly worth $13 million, according to Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston.
Moreland, 32, hit .246/.326/.443 with 99 OPS+, 34 doubles, 22 home runs and 79 RBI in 149 games for the Boston Red Sox during the 2017 season. He had the second highest WAR of his career at 2.0 and had 10 defensive runs saved at first.
The left-handed hitter slashed .246/.324/.460 against righties last year and has a career .779 OPS vs right-handed pitchers in his career.
Moreland was another first base option the New York Mets had considered for a short-term fix according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports.
