Reports indicate the Mets are close to signing veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who presumably could provide a safety net in the event Dominic Smith can’t handle a regular job as the first baseman.
That would obliterate my argument below that Jay Bruce was inked to be the first baseman and at worst, Gonzalez could be the veteran left-handed pinch-hitter we’d need anyway. Gonzo is a lifetime .288/.359/.488 hitter — I’d sign on if Smith could put up that line — but he’s also 35 years old and coming off a year interrupted by a back injury and the sudden emergence of Cody Bellinger in Los Angeles. The Dodgers traded him away in a salary dump to Atlanta earlier this offseason and the Braves subsequently released him, allowing the Mets to pick him up with hardly any impact to their precious salary structure so there’s little cause to be alarmed.
Gonzalez has worn No. 23 for 10 of his 14 years in the big leagues, and would presumably inherit the No. 23 jersey last worn by bench coach Dick Scott, who was not renewed after last season. A proud Mexican-American, Gonzalez made headlines last season when he refused to stay in a certain Chicago hotel while the Dodgers were visiting the Windy City.
