Why The Mets Should Sign Dee Strange-Gordon

First of all, why not? The Mets have been so ravaged by injuries lately that they need all the help they can get in order to stay afloat until they get some of their regulars back.

And, versatile utility man Dee Strange-Gordon might just be the perfect low-risk, high-reward move they could make.

Strange-Gordon was released by the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend after signing a minor league deal with them in April.

Despite not receiving a call up to the big-league club, Strange-Gordon was off to a hot start for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. In 45 plate appearances, Strange-Gordon slashed .333/.378/.500 in the minors.

Strange-Gordon just turned 33 years old last month and has the ability to play second base, shortstop, center field and left field. This versatility is just what the Mets need given the amount of players they’ve lost to the I.L.

Although he struggled with the Seattle Mariners in a COVID-shortened 2020 campaign (.200/.268/.213), Strange-Gordon was solid in his last full season in the big leagues in 2019, where he hit .275/.304/.359 with 22 stolen bases.

In 10 MLB seasons, Strange-Gordon is a two-time All Star, and has won a batting title, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award.

He is also a three-time MLB stolen base leader and would bring speed to the Mets’ lineup. While he is not as fast as he once was as the stolen base champ, Strange-Gordon still ranked in the 85th percentile in speed last season, per Baseball Savant.

The bottom line is this: the Mets have had to use so many pieces in the first two months of the season that they’ve become extremely thin and now lack depth as a result. They recently traded for outfielder Cameron Maybin, who is 0-for-16 with nine strikeouts to start his Mets career.

So, we will ask this again, why not sign Strange-Gordon and see what he has left? What do the Mets have to lose?

Acting general manager Zack Scott must do something because at the moment, the Mets do not appear to be any closer to getting any of their injured starting position players back with the exception of J.D. Davis, who is still expected to be back with the Mets this week despite dealing with neck stiffness on his rehab assignment which kept him out of Syracuse’s lineup on Sunday.

Besides Davis, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Kevin Pillar all currently do not have a timetable to return.

That is a big problem given the current state of the roster. And although they were able to take two-of-three in Atlanta last week and pull off a thrilling extra innings victory in their first game in Miami, the Mets’ glaring holes showed up offensively in the next two games, as they scored a total of two runs to drop the series to the Marlins.

After a 3-6 road trip, the Mets head home to face the abysmal Colorado Rockies for a four-game set. The Rockies have only two road wins this year, however, the Mets’ current lineup is so decimated by injuries that it is no sure thing that they can win the series.

This is why they need to bring in more external reinforcements whether that be via trade or on the free-agent market. Signing Strange-Gordon would be a start.