In Steve Cohen’s quest to sign every major league player to a contract, a former White Sox now finds himself on the path toward playing in Queens.
According to Jeff Passan, former White Sox infielder Danny Mendick has agreed to a one-year, $1M deal with the Mets. Mendick will still have four years of control on his contract with the Mets, going year-to-year moving forward in arbitration.
Much to the surprise of most Sox fans, Mendick was one of the three players who the White Sox declined to tender a 2023 contract prior to arbitration. Mendick had season-ending ACL surgery after colliding with fellow non-tender Adam Haseley, and it seemed as though the White Sox were going to try and re-sign Mendick to a minor league deal. However, the Mets clearly had other plans – and Mendick deserves a major league deal.
In 106 plate appearances in 2022, Mendick slashed .289/.343/.443, good for a 125 wRC+ and 0.8 fWAR. He had been filling in admirably for the injured Tim Anderson at the time, who had been down with an injury of his own. In 446 career major league plate appearances, Mendick has hit .251/.309/.366 with an 87 wRC+. However, those numbers don’t show his ability to put up valuable production in small stints as they’ve been required throughout his career. The former 22nd-round draft pick has shown that he belongs in the major leagues, and at times, has shown himself to be a major asset for the White Sox.
With the signing, the Mets have now seemed to make Eduardo Escobar expendable. The Mets have not been shy about wanting to rid themselves of some of their bad contracts, and just this evening, they sent James McCann to Baltimore for a player to be named later. Signing Mendick – along with having Bretty Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and others nearly major league-ready – makes Escobar’s $9.5M far more likely to be moved. The Mets and White Sox have been connected via rumors in recent days, and a swap such as Joe Kelly for Eduardo Escobar may make sense here.
We wish Mendick all the best in New York – Sox fans are grateful for the work he put in during his time with the organization.
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