The Mets on Thursday announced that they've signed outfielder MJ Melendez to a one-year contract. Terms of the deal were not announced, but MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported the contract is worth $1.5 million plus $500,000 in incentives.
A former Top 100 prospect, Melendez enters 2026 -- his age-27 season -- looking to rebound after a season spent mostly in the Minors with the Royals.
The slugging lefty has yet to reach the potential many saw during his ascension with Kansas City. Despite big power and an elite throwing arm, sustained success has been elusive during three-plus seasons in the big leagues, which led the Royals to not offer him a contract for 2026.
After a demotion to the Minors in April, Melendez played just seven more games in the bigs the remainder of the 2025 season. In all, he hit .083 with a homer and a .321 OPS in 23 games. With Triple-A Omaha, however, he hit 20 homers and had an .813 OPS in 107 games.
Despite some success with the bat -- he has 13 career three-hit games, for example -- his time in the big leagues has been a struggle for offensive consistency, as evidenced by his 26.5 percent strikeout rate. But he also has a career 46.2 percent hard-hit rate -- well above the league average of 37 percent -- showing that there's plenty of potential for him to do damage.
Melendez's best season came in his rookie year in 2022, when he had 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 129 games spent mostly as a catcher. Though he's not played behind the plate since 2023, he still brings some defensive versatility. He can play both corner outfield spots, has spent time at DH and even made brief appearances at first base.
For his career, Melendez has slashed .215/.297/.388 with 52 homers in 435 games.