UPDATE:
Alejandro de Aza's one-year deal with the Mets is for about $4.5 million.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 22, 2015
de aza, mets are in agreement on deal. plan is to share CF with lagares.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 22, 2015
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Just a day after rumors suggested the New York Mets were looking to add an outfielder, the team is reportedly close to signing veteran Alejandro De Aza, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports also confirmed Rosenthal's report and says it's a one-year deal.
On Monday ESPN's Jerry Crasnick said the Mets had De Aza, Denard Span and Will Venable "on their radar as left-handed center field options." He said they were "slow-playing" the process likely because they wanted to see how the outfield market materialized since a number of top free agents remain unsigned.
However, the Mets will seemingly make their addition very soon as they're nearing a deal with De Aza, who spent the 2015 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. The 31-year-old batted .262/.333/.422 with 51 runs scored, 7 home runs and 35 RBI in 114 games (325 at-bats).
The versatile De Aza is capable of playing all three outfield spots, which will help the Mets give players days off and cope with Juan Lagares' mysterious elbow ailment.
De Aza, a left-handed bat, had his best seasons with the Chicago White sox back in 2012 and 2013 before he was traded to the Orioles in 2014. He was extremely effective for the Red Sox in 2015, but due to their crowded outfield situation the team had little use for the veteran.
Based on this news, it appears as if the Mets are going to go with the cheapest option considering other outfield names are expected to receive long-term lucrative contracts. Their interest in Span and Venable was likely realistic, but in reality the club needs a temporary platoon option to pair with Lagares since he's signed through 2019 for $22.5 million.
Span is represented by Scott Boras, who has repeatedly stated his client will not settle for a one-year deal, and Venable has failed to put up decent offensive numbers over the past two seasons as he enters his age-33 season, which would be of little help to New York.
Stay tuned for updates on this development.
