Mets Claim Andy Ibáñez – MLB Trade Rumors
The Mets have chosen infielder/outfielder Andy Ibanez off waivers from the Athletics, per an announcement from the A’s. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reported the transfer previous to the official announcement. The A’s designated him for task a couple of days in the past. The Mets have an open 40-man spot after designating Carl Edwards Jr. for task earlier at the moment. Ibáñez is out of choices and might want to bounce onto the lively roster, so that they might want to make a corresponding transfer in that regard when he studies to the group.
Ibáñez, 33, is a utility man who offers defensive versatility. His offense has been mercurial and is presently at a low ebb. He had stable seasons in 2021 and 2023, with a swoon in 2022. Over the 2024 and 2025 campaigns, he slashed .240/.297/.355 for the Tigers. That manufacturing led to an 85 wRC+, indicating he was 15% worse than league common. Detroit may have retained him through arbitration however non-tendered him as an alternative, sending him to free company.
Teams across the league nonetheless imagine of their potential. The Dodgers signed him to a one-12 months, $1.2MM deal in January. The designated him for task a few weeks later, which can appear odd, but it surely was by design.
Ibáñez has simply over three years of service time. Players with at the least three years of service have the precise to reject outright assignments after clearing waivers. However, if they’ve lower than 5, they must stroll away from their wage commitments. The Dodgers have been hoping that the contract was sufficient for different groups to go on him. Once he handed via waivers, he would not wish to stroll away from the $1.2MM, so he would certainly stick round as non-roster depth.
The A’s interrupted that plan, claiming him again in February. I’ve caught round for a couple of weeks however hit .118/.167/.118 in 18 plate appearances. Despite that poor exhibiting in latest weeks, the Mets are going to take a shot on him.
Ibáñez will at the least present some flexibility off the bench. He has expertise in any respect 4 infield spots and the outfield corners. His shortstop work consists of simply 9 innings however he has over 1,000 innings at second base and nearly 800 at third, with good numbers in addition. Combining that with improved offense can be best but it surely’s been a couple of years. His most up-to-date above-common offensive season was 2023, when he hit .264/.312/.433 for a 103 wRC+.
The Mets have operated with slender infield flexibility for a lot of this 12 months. They opened the marketing campaign with Francisco Lindor at shortstop, Marcus Semien at second and Bo Bichette at third. First base has been shared by a rotation of Jorge Polanco, Mark Winds, Jared Young and Brett Baty. with Young and Baty additionally taking part in some outfield. The Mets have largely been taking part in with no bench infielder. Bichette was successfully the backup for Lindor, whereas guys like Baty or Vientos may cowl third for Bichette. Baty may additionally cowl second if Semien missed time.
The image has been shuffled in latest weeks. Lindor, Polanco and Young have all hit the IL just lately, as he has outfielder Luis Robert Jr. That leaves the Mets with Ronny Mauricio at brief, whereas Bichette and Semien nonetheless maintain their positions. Mauricio has struck out in 9 of his 22 plate appearances to this point this 12 months. The Mets known as up infielder/outfielder Eric Wagaman at the moment when Robert hit the IL however Wagaman is extra of a nook man. Ibáñez provides them some extra cowl within the center infield. Wagaman has choices and could possibly be despatched again out when Ibáñez joins the group.
Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall, Imagn Images
