The New York Mets have been active during the offseason and they may be interested in Brian Dozier for the infield.
The New York Mets and second baseman Brian Dozier have engaged in talks recently according to Jon Heyman of Fancred.
Mets are among teams to have talks regarding Brian Dozier lately, tho Nats, Rox and others seem like more logical fits. Market for him starting to warm.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 9, 2019
The former All-Star was traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. For the season, Dozier slashed .215/.305/.391 while belting 21 home runs and driving in 72 runs. Dozier’s 2018 was a steep drop off from his previous three seasons.
Dozier is a solid MLB player with playoff experience, but it’s hard finding a place for him in the crowded Mets infield. Robinson Cano and Amed Rosario appear to be locked in up the middle. Not to mention, the veteran Todd Frazier and young stud Jeff McNeil will get their share of at-bats as well.
Furthermore, Dozier isn’t the right type of player for CitiField. He has some serious pop in his bat and even hit a career-high 42 home runs in 2016. That being said, his power numbers have decreased in each of the last few years and the pitcher-friendly CitiField could doom Dozier to a fourth straight year in decline. Dozier turns 32 in May and could be on the downswing of his career.
It’s unclear how much interest the Mets have in Dozier, but they have spoken to him. As Heyman notes, there are other teams in the mix who make more sense. The Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals are two teams that come to mind.
That being said, if general manager Brodie Van Wagenen really wants to add depth to the infield, Dozier could be an affordable option.
