Former New York Mets' Clubhouse Favorite Signs With Blue Jays
This former New York Mets' clubhouse favorite will be playing for his third team in the last three seasons.
The Toronto Blue Jays have signed ex-Mets third baseman Eduardo Escobar to a minor league deal, per MLB insider Robert Murray of FanSided.
Escobar was with the Mets for one and a half seasons, spending the entirety of 2022 as the team's everyday third baseman, before getting traded to the Los Angeles Angels in June of 2023 after top prospect Brett Baty took his job at the hot corner.
The Mets landed Landon Marceaux and Coleman Crow from the Angels while ex-GM Billy Eppler was at the helm. But after president of baseball operations David Stearns took over in the offseason, he flipped Crow to his old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in order to acquire right-handed pitcher Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor.
Back to Escobar, he was a positive presence in the Mets' clubhouse, a veteran leader, who was beloved by his teammates. However, he struggled to find consistency throughout his Mets' tenure. That said, Escobar's second half in 2022 was strong, .273 average, .825 OPS, nine home runs, and between September and October he posted a monstrous .982 OPS, eight homers and 25 RBIs. For that, there was some optimism regarding his standing heading into 2023.
But things didn't go as planned as another slow start, plus Baty's hot beginning at the Triple-A level saw the Mets pull the trigger early on to see what their young guy had. From there, Escobar's days in Queens were numbered and he would not stick around much longer as Eppler dealt him two months later.
When Escobar signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Mets prior to the 2022 season, it was clear he was coming in to be the veteran stopgap option until Baty was ready for the major leagues. Now, Baty has almost no competition at the position, despite struggling last year. We shall see if he develops into the star he was expected to be.
As for Escobar, if he makes it to the majors he will be joining a Blue Jays' lineup that has some heavy hitters, so he will not be relied upon to be a top contributor. This feels like an ideal situation for the switch-hitting 35-year-old, who has some pop in his bat.
