Just days after guaranteeing that the Mets would come back from the winter meetings with some new players, the Mets signed two players to major league deals Tuesday.
Reliever D.J. Carrasco signed a two-year deal for a reported $2.5 million with the team today, and catcher Ronny Paulino signed a one-year deal worth $1.3 million plus incentives.
Carrasco, a 33-year-old right-hander, has pitched for four teams in his six year major league career.
In 2010, split between Pittsburgh and Arizona, he had a 3.68 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9, and 47.5% groundball percentge in 78.1 IP.
Carrasco credited new Mets assistant GM J.P. Ricciardi when asked why he choose New York.
"He talked about the opportunity. It's wide open there, and I'll be pitching a lot for a team that I believe is competitive," Carrasco said via telephone. "All of that together sounded really good to me."
"I'm capable of doing whatever they ask," he said. "I'd prefer to be in games that are going to lead to wins and holds and stuff like that -- that the games are going to be winning games as opposed to blowout games. I can do the multiple inning kind of deal."
"I want to be used quite a bit. That's what keeps me sharp. That's another thing I told [Ricciardi]. He had mentioned they would be using me a lot. That's exactly what I want. I want to be able to stay sharp."
He sounds excited for the opportunity to pitch often, and especially in his spacious new homepark of Citi Field.
"It was a beautiful field," he said. "I actually went there for the first time in my career last year when I got traded to the Diamondbacks -- on two hours of sleep. I'm excited to play in the new park and with some passionate fans."
Meanwhile, the Mets also think they've found their backup catcher in Ronny Paulino. The 29-year-old righty played four years with the Pirates and the last two with the Marlins.
Paulino has eight games remaining on his 50-game suspension for PED use that was issued last year. Reportedly he claims to have used a drug for weight control that unknowingly contained a banned substance.
Nevertheless, he seems like the perfect compliment to starting catcher Josh Thole from an offensive standpoint.
He's not known for good defense, but Paulino rakes against left-handed pitching. For his career, he's hit .338/.390/.491 against southpaws, including a robust .358/.380/.516 in 2010.
Josh Thole, conversely hit .299/.381/.402 vs right-handers in 2010. It should be a nice cost-effective catching platoon for the Mets.
Rumors are flying every which way during the winter meetings, so keep an eye out for some more moves before the end of the week. The Mets I'm sure will be doing their due diligence, but as we know, money is tight this year.
So far, so good in my opinion for the Mets new front office.
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