The Mets have added some positional versatility ahead of the 2026 season.
They agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with outfielder MJ Melendez. The Post’s Jon Heyman first reported.
Melendez’s deal also includes $500,000 in incentives, according to Heyman.
The 27-year-old, once considered a top-100 talent in baseball, has struggled to parlay that promise into sustained Major League production.
Coming off a 2025 nightmare, Melendez is hitting just .083 with one home run in 23 MLB games while spending most of the season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate.
He was much more productive in the minors, slashing .261/.323/.490 with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
From 2022 to 2024, Melendez hit at least 16 home runs and played in at least 128 games in every season for Kansas City, though he never posted a wRC+ higher than 97.
Drafted by the Royals in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft (52nd overall), Melendez’s power from the left side made him an enticing prospect.
He led all of minor league baseball with 41 home runs in 2021 and was ranked as Kansas City’s second-best 2022 prospect behind Bobby Witt Jr. by MLB.com.
Originally drafted as a catcher, the Royals moved Melendez – who made his MLB debut in 2022 – exclusively to left field the following year due to a logjam of backstops, including Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin, on the roster – and to relieve some pressure.
“From a preparation standpoint, he’s a little out of his mind because these catchers put a lot of work into preparing for a game,” Royals general manager JJ Picollo said. told MLB.com in May 2023. “If we just take that out of his head and focus on the bat, we think [it] will pay dividends. It’s something we thought we had to do at this time.
“It’s not a move because he hasn’t performed well defensively. We think a lot of progress has been made. But he’s a big part of our attack. If we can get him off to a flying start like that – and we have Freddy, who we also believe in, that gives him the opportunity to get some experience at this level.”
Melendez has experience at catcher, first base and both corners in the outfield, giving the Mets additional flexibility, especially in left field, where top prospect Carson Benge is expected to compete for playing time.
#Mets #sign #top #prospect #Melendez #oneyear #contract