For the second straight season the Mets had injuries that led to a shortage of viable options off the bench and found themselves needing to trade for the services of Kelly Johnson.
Johnson was surprisingly even better in his second stint with the Mets hitting .268/.328/.459 with eight doubles, nine home runs and 24 runs knocked in over 201 plate appearances. When the Mets traded Akeel Morris to the Atlanta Braves for Johnson he was struggling mightily with a .215 average and had just one home run.
The veteran utility guy played 26 games at second base, 21 at third base, nine in left field, two at first base and for the second straight year made one appearance at shortstop for the Mets. Although the range is limited he played a solid second and third base that helped deal with the injuries of Neil Walker, David Wright, and Wilmer Flores.
Johnson also had a flair for the dramatic with the Mets this season hitting four pinch hit home runs. Over the last two seasons he’s hit five pinch hit homers in 42 at bats in a Mets uniform.
With Walker possibly moving on and the questions surrounding the health of Wright it would be a good idea for the Mets to re-sign Johnson instead of having to trade for him later in the season.
The last two seasons the Mets have sorely missed a veteran infielder on the bench to start the season. Maybe 2017 will be the year that Kelly Johnson is on the Mets Opening Day roster.
