Mets sign outfielder Brown to Minor League deal

NEW YORK -- The Mets have signed outfielder Andrew Brown to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training, the team announced Wednesday.

Brown, 28, hit .232 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in 46 games for the Rockies last season. He made the Pacific Coast League postseason and midseason All-Star teams on the strength of his .308 average, 33 doubles, 24 home runs and 98 RBIs in 100 games at Triple-A Colorado Springs. He also appeared in the Majors in 2011 with the Cardinals.

Brown gives the Mets a second right-handed-hitting outfield option behind Colin Cowgill, whom they acquired last month. The team's three current projected starters, Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Mike Baxter, are all left-handed. But if the Mets sign a right-handed-hitting outfielder, such as Scott Hairston, to a Major League deal, Brown would slide down the depth chart.