In 2015 with the season hanging on by a thread, the Mets went out and made a couple of moves. The most notable of course was Yoenis Cespedes, however the first of those deals was to bring in utility man Kelly Johnson. Johnson was a good pickup for the Mets as he got some big hits in big spots, and hit .250/.304/.414 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 128 at-bats. At the end of the season he signed a one-year deal to go back to Atlanta.
Then again in 2016, with the team struggling and looking for depth who does Sandy Alderson make a deal for? Utility-man Kelly Johnson. Johnson again, came in and did what was asked of him. He again picked up some big hits in big spots, helping the team make the playoffs.
One big hit that sticks out the most is against his former team in Atlanta. With the game tied at zero in the top of the 11th, Johnson came off the bench and hit a game-winning, go-ahead home run, leading the Mets offense to a win. In a total of 183 at-bats, Johnson hit .268 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs.
With the offseason quickly coming to an end, Kelly Johnson is still available as a free agent. The Mets should sign Johnson, preferably to a minor league deal if he’ll take it.
First off, Johnson was very useful with the Mets. As mentioned before, he plays just about whatever position asked of him. Also, in two seasons in New York he was pretty productive, as he hit a combined .260/.319/.440 with 14 home runs and 37 RBIs in 339 plate appearances.
Johnson is a good fit for the Mets because of that versatility as well. If you think about it, the Mets entire infield missed an extended period of time at some point last season. Johnson played five different positions for the Mets last year and played six during his 2015 stint.
In 42 pinch hit at-bats for the the Mets, Johnson has 11 hits and a whopping five of them have left the park. Also important to note, Terry Collins please listen, that the left-handed hitting Johnson has actually fared better against left-handed pitching in his career (.762 OPS) than right-handed pitching (.748 OPS).
Now Mets fans, I know you’re all saying we don’t have the room for him but hear me out. We already heard from Sandy Alderson that the plan could be to start the season with Michael Conforto in Triple-A. The Mets could option utility infielder T.J. Rivera to Triple-A as well. Yes, Rivera was solid in his brief appearance last season, but Johnson provides proven versatility and has shown in back-to-back seasons he fills this role very well in New York. Injuries will happen that surely bring Conforto and Rivera back to the big leagues at some point in 2017.
Johnson would then join a bench of Juan Lagares, Jose Reyes, Rene Rivera, and Wilmer Flores, making Kelly the fifth outfielder on the roster and a key backup for the infield as well.
Sandy Alderson, please sign Kelly Johnson.
