Making Sense of the Mets Signing of Adrian Gonzalez

A puzzling off-season for the Mets got a little stranger Saturday when the club agreed to a deal with free agent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. 

At 36-years old Gonzalez was a shell of his former MVP-calliber self last season with the Dodgers. In 71 games he hit only .242 with a .287 on base percentage, and was not even a member of the Dodgers postseason roster. It was the least amount of games he's played in since 2012 when he was injured. 

Why would the Mets sign Gonzalez? 

A few reasons. 1) He comes cheap and its really a no risk for the Mets. New York is expected to pay only the league minimum, or roughly $550,000, while the Atlanta Braves will have to pay $21.5 million of Gonzalez's salary. The Braves put themselves in that financial hole when they acquired Gonzalez in a swap with the Dodgers a few weeks ago. Since Gonzalez was released, the Mets are basically getting him for nothing. 

2) If Gonzalez contributes, then great! The Mets are expecting Dominic Smith to be their everyday first baseman, however that does not mean that Gonzalez won't have some impact on the Mets offense. He could serve as the Mets first baseman if Smith is struggling. However, his place on this team, if he makes it, will almost definitely be as a left-handed power off the bench late in games. Consider that it was just two years ago, that Gonzalez played in 156 games, hit 18 home runs and drove in 90. The Mets are betting that there is something left in that bat of his. 

3) Leadership! The Mets need some veteran leadership on this team. While they get some of that from having Jay Bruce back, they Mets needed that veteran player who can keep the players together. If Gonzalez makes the team out of Spring Training that will be one of his primary roles. 

While Mets fans shouldn't expect a whole lot of Gonzalez, and yes, fans would rather see New York dip their feet deeper into the free agent pool, getting a guy like Gonzalez could be a steal if all pans out.