Jun 29, 2020
Cabrera, Beckham among Mets signings
The New York Mets made a flurry of signings on Monday to add to their summer player pool ahead of the expected Major League Baseball restart next month. The team has come to an agreement with former All-Star outfielder Melky Cabrera, infielders Gordon Beckham and Ryan Cordell, reliever Hunter Strickland and starter Erasmo Ramirez.
TSN.ca Staff
The New York Mets made a flurry of signings on Monday to add to their summer player pool ahead of the expected Major League Baseball restart next month.
The team has come to an agreement with former All-Star outfielder Melky Cabrera, infielders Gordon Beckham and Ryan Cordell, reliever Hunter Strickland and starter Erasmo Ramirez.
Cabrera, 35, heads into his 16th MLB season. He spent last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, batting .280 with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in and an OPS of .713 in 133 games.
A veteran of 1,887 games, Cabrera is a career .285 hitter with stints with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland and the Bucs. He needs 38 hits to reach 2,000.
Beckham, 33, is a veteran of 11 seasons. He spent last season with the Detroit Tigers, playing in 83 games and hitting .215 with six HR, 15 RBI and an OPS of .643.
A native of Atlanta, Beckham had previously spent time with the White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Braves and Seattle Mariners.
Cordell, 28, appeared in 116 games for the White Sox over the past two seasons. In 2019, he hit .221 with seven HR, 21 RBI and an OPS of .645.
The 31-year-old Strickland won a World Series last season as a member of the Washington Nationals, acquired in a midseason trade with the Mariners. In a combined 28 appearances between the two clubs in 2019, Strickland was 2-1 with an earned run average of 5.55 and WHIP of 1.233 in 24.1 innings pitched.
A native of Thomaston, GA, Strickland spent the first five seasons of his career with the Giants, with whom he won the 2014 World Series.
Ramirez, 30, heads into his ninth big-league season.
Born in Rivas, Nicaragua, Ramirez appeared in one game for the Boston Red Sox in 2019.
His best season came in 2015 when he went 11-6 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.133 WHIP over 163.1 IP for the Tampa Bay Rays.
For his career, Ramirez is 32-39 in 193 games (92 starts) for the Mariners, Rays and Red Sox.