The New York Mets recently announced that the team has signed outfielder Albert Almora Jr. to a one-year contract. To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Corey Oswalt has been designated for assignment.
Almora Jr., 26, has spent his entire career in the Cubs organization after being selected by Chicago with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. In five major league seasons, he owns a .271/.309/.398 career slashline, including a .280/.332/.402 mark against left-handed pitchers.
Last season, he appeared in 28 games for the Cubs and was 5-30 (.167) at the plate with four runs, a double and one RBI. In 2019, the outfielder hit a career-high 12 home runs and ranked fourth among NL centerfielders with a .986 fielding percentage.
The Hialeah, Florida native made his major league debut in 2016 and in the same year scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning of the Cubs’ championship-clinching World Series Game 7 win at Cleveland.
RAPID REACTION: This was a nice move, as the Mets seem to be addressing centerfield with quantity, as opposed to much more expensive options such as Jackie Bradley Jr. I have no problem with the Mets going for a defense-first approach, especially when that leaves money open to talk extension with Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard.
