The Mets now have Jay Bruce, Ryan Ryder AND Dilson Herrera on their roster.
What a time to be alive.
The New York Mets announced Thursday evening that they’ve signed former Cincinnati Red Dilson Herrera to a minor-league contract with an invite to big-league Spring Training.
Herrera who was one of the Mets’ top prospects a few seasons ago was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Jay Bruce in the summer of 2016. The infielders tenure in the Queen City was plagued by injury. Coupled with the emergence of Scooter Gennett at second base, Herrera spent most of his time with the Reds in Triple A. He was released by Cincinnati earlier this month.
This was a very bizarre turn of events.
The Mets essentially let Daniel Murphy go to a division rival in 2016. The thought was Dilson Herrera would eventually take over as the second baseman of the future. Herrera was traded later that year for Jay Bruce.
The Mets, under Sandy Alderson, spent the entire offseason trying to trade Jay Bruce. After not being able to find a proper suitor, Bruce remained in Queens for the 2017 season. After an impressive campaign, he was dealt to Cleveland at the trade deadline for reliever Ryder Ryan.
Sandy Alderson must have had a drastic change of heart, as he signed Jay Bruce to a three year deal before the 2018 season, even though the Mets needed a center fielder.
Go figure.
Anyways, I’d like to go on record and say I still believe in Herrera. Good depth signing.
Interestingly enough, the Reds just claimed outfielder Jordan Patterson off waivers. The Mets claimed him when Colorado released him, and then cut ties just days later.