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By Matt Musico
Contributing Sports Writer
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The New York Mets made headlines earlier in the offseason by signing outfielder Juan Soto to a $765 million deal. While many are waiting to see if they re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso, could another reunion with outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker be on the horizon?
Winker began his 2024 season with the Washington Nationals before landing with the Mets at the trade deadline. After posting a .793 OPS in 379 plate appearances with Washington, that number dropped to .683 in 129 trips to the plate for New York. The left-handed hitter did produce in the postseason, hitting .318/.531/.636 with four RBI and seven runs scored in 32 plate appearances.
The Mets have been linked to multiple left-handed hitters on the free-agent market in recent weeks, including Joc Pederson and Alex Verdugo. FanGraphs' Roster Resource currently has Startling Marte listed as the club's primary designated hitter, but would Winker make sense to join him as part of a platoon?
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Just Baseball's Ryan Finkelstein thinks Winker will remain in Queens for the 2025 season.
"Alonso has drawn most of the attention since the Soto news, as the Mets are playing a game of chicken that is still expected to end with the Polar Bear staying in Queens," Finkelstein wrote. "If the Mets want to add a second bat though, bringing back another postseason hero could be a good fit.
"Winker was about a league-average hitter for the Mets after coming over at the deadline (97 wRC+), but he put together fantastic at-bats in October, reaching base 17 times in 32 plate appearances, posting an absurd 1.168 OPS and 224 wRC+ in a limited sample."
Finkelstein is predicting a one-year, $10 million guarantee for the 31-year-old, which would be quite an increase of over the $2.4 million projection from Spotrac.
More MLB: Slugger Pete Alonso Predicted to Sign $140 Million Deal With NL Contender
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