Mets sign outfielder De Aza to 1-year deal
The Mets on Wednesday announced they signed free-agent outfielder Alejandro De Aza to a one-year deal.
De Aza, 31, has spent eight years in the Major Leagues -- primarily with the White Sox. Jon Heyman is reporting the deal with the Mets is for one year.
In 114 games this past season combined with the Orioles, Red Sox and Giants, De Aza hit .262 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs.
The Mets have been in the market for a left-handed-hitting center fielder to platoon with Juan Lagares, and have been linked to De Aza and Denard Span, among others. A deal with De Aza would likely take them out of the running for Span, who is a bit of a question mark after being limited to 61 games in 2015 because of a hip injury that required surgery.
De Aza's career line of .267/.331/.405 compares well with Span's career line of .287/.352/.395.
Fantasy spin | Fred Zinkie (@FredZinkieMLB)
With a lifetime .756 OPS against right-handers (.657 vs. LHP), De Aza is a solid platoon partner for center fielder Lagares (career .627 OPS vs. RHP, .753 vs. LHP). If the Mets' center-field duties were to be strictly split according to the platoon advantage, De Aza would emerge with more playing time and fantasy value than Lagares. While neither player is likely to populate standard mixed-league rosters, De Aza could help those in NL-only formats by compiling 5-10 homers with 50 runs scored and a double-digit steals total.