With playing time up for grabs in left field, the New York Mets and MJ Melendez agreed on a one-year contract, league sources confirmed Sunday, that puts the 27-year-old in the club’s outfield mix.
Melendez’s contract is a split deal (different salaries in majors and minors) that pays him $1.5 million in the majors with another $500,000 available via performance bonuses, league sources said. The New York Post first reported the agreement.
Melendez saw most of his playing time with the Kansas City Royals in left field and right field, but he holds additional versatility. While Melendez is mostly an outfielder, the Mets view him as capable of occasionally handling first base, too, if needed. Melendez came up as a catcher and would likely be the Mets’ emergency plan at the position. Left field is his best path for any real playing time. Candidates for time in left field for the Mets include Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor and top prospect Carson Benge.
The Athletic previously reported that after a wild week in which the Mets landed Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr. and Freddy Peralta, they were in the market for a much more modest addition to their outfield group. Melendez fits that profile.
In four big-league seasons with the Royals, Melendez has hit .215 with a .297 on-base percentage and .388 slugging percentage. He played just 23 games in the majors last season, spending most of the year with Triple-A Omaha, where he hit 20 home runs.
Once a top-50 prospect in the sport as a catcher, Melendez shifted to the outfield because of the presence of Salvador Perez in Kansas City. In 2021, Melendez hit 41 homers between Double A and Triple A.
That kind of offensive production never carried over to the majors. The lefty-swinging Melendez was a league-average hitter as a rookie in 2022 and got slightly worse in 2023 and 2024 before bottoming out last season with five hits in his 60 big-league at-bats.
The Mets have to juggle some pieces with their bench. If Benge doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, there should be room for another player like Melendez, who can play the outfield corners as well as some first base (and potentially catch, though he hasn’t done that in the big leagues since 2023). Even if Benge does make the roster, the defensive versatility of the Mets’ starters, especially on the infield, could permit the club to carry Melendez over a more traditional backup infielder like Ronny Mauricio.