April 3: Per Robert Murray of FanSided, Marte’s deal is a two-year pact. That could suggest that he’s unlikely to pitch much in 2025 as he recovers from his shoulder surgery.
April 2: The Mets announced today that they’ve signed first baseman Jon Singleton and infielder Niko Goodrum to minor league deals. Additionally, the club has signed right-hander Jose Marte to a minor league deal according to the transactions tracker on Marte’s MLB.com profile page.
Singleton, 33, served as the Astros regular first baseman last year after the club parted ways with Jose Abreu early in the 2024 season. Drafted in the eighth round of the 2009 draft by the Phillies, Singleton was shipped to Houston in the Hunter Pence trade and eventually became a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport with the Astros. The club signed Singleton to a pre-debut extension that guaranteed him $10MM over five years during his debut season back in 2014. The deal was viewed as a coup for the Astros at the time, but Singleton unfortunately hit just .171/.290/.331 over two seasons with the Astros before toiling in the minor leagues for a few years and eventually being released in 2018.
At first, it seemed likely that Singleton’s release marked the end of his baseball career. However, the first baseman resurfaced during his age-29 season with a strong showing in the Mexican League and got enough attention that he signed with the Brewers on a minor league deal for the 2022 season. He hit reasonably well at Triple-A for the club and posted even stronger numbers the following season, earning him a call-up back to the majors. He hit just .103/.188/.138 in 11 games for the Brewers, but upon being released signed with the Astros and hit a more respectable (though still subpar) .194/.301/.324 in 25 games for the club.
That performance was enough to earn Singleton his aforementioned shot at the regular first base job in 2024, and he actually started to hit for the first time in his career last year when given that opportunity. In 405 trips to the plate across 119 games, Singleton slashed .234/.321/.386. That slightly better than league average production was enough to convince the Astros to keep Singleton on the roster throughout the offseason, though not enough to stop them from signing Christian Walker to take over regular first base duties. When Singleton hit just .171/.239/.195 in Spring Training, however, Houston had seen enough and decided to cut bait.
Goodrum, meanwhile, has been part of seven MLB seasons so far in his career. The Twins’ second-rounder back in 2010, he made his big league debut in Minnesota back in 2017 but was cut from the club’s roster and ended up signing with the Tigers on a minor league deal that offseason. He went on to put up solid numbers with Detroit over the next four seasons, hitting hit a decent .232/.306/.401 (90 wRC+) in 376 games from 2018 to 2021. His production tapered off in 2020 and 2021, however, as he hit just .203/.282/.350 (75 wRC+) in those final two years in Detroit before he was outrighted off the Tigers’ roster.
In the years since leaving Detroit, Goodrum has appeared in just 28 total MLB games, hitting a paltry .111/.169/.139 in 78 plate appearances between the Astros, Rays, and Angels. When not in the majors, he’s bounced between the Red Sox, Pirates, Orioles, and Padres organizations and even had a brief stint in the KBO league where he slashed .295/.373/.387 in 50 games for the Lotte Giants. San Diego was Goodrum’s most recent stop, and the 33-year-old actually hit quite well in Spring Training as he slashed .278/.519/.444 in 14 games. That solid showing wasn’t enough to earn a roster spot with the Padres, however, and Goodrum returned to free agency where he’s now caught on with the Mets.
As for Marte, the right-hander signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic as an amateur and made his pro debut back in 2016. He was traded to the Angels in the deal that sent southpaw Tony Watson to San Francisco a couple of years later, however, and eventually went on to make his big league debut with Anaheim during the 2021 season. Marte was shuttled between Triple-A and the majors over the next four seasons, and his results from 2021 to 2023 were nothing short of disastrous as he posted an 8.14 ERA and 7.61 FIP in 24 1/3 innings of work with more walks (28) than strikeouts (27).
Things seemed to click for Marte in 2024, however, as he pitched to a 2.22 ERA in 28 1/3 innings in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League while striking out 28.4% of opponents and walking a more manageable 11.2%. That success translated to the big leagues, as he posted a 2.33 ERA in 19 1/3 innings, though he only struck out 17.5% of his opponents while walking 12.5%. His season was cut short by a viral infection and shoulder surgery, however, and he found himself outrighted off the Angels’ 40-man roster at the end of the year.
With all three now set to join the Mets at Triple-A, each figures to fill a depth role for the club going forward. Singleton is locked behind Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker on the first base/DH depth chart, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him be the next man up behind Winker as a left-handed part-time option in the case of injury. Goodrum, meanwhile, is a versatile bench piece who can play virtually anywhere on the diamond except for catcher. That’s a particularly useful skillset for the Mets while the versatile Jeff McNeil is on the injured list. As for Marte, it’s unclear whether the righty is recovered from shoulder surgery at this point, but when he returns he could be an interesting, high-upside bullpen option for the Mets at some point this year.
Who is a more mid 1B, Jon Singleton or Dominic Smith?
I would take Dom over Singleton all 7 days of the week.
Well i know that Singleton has become a great mentor for the young players at AAA. Organization are talking very highly of the work he has been doing with them and his mentoring on how to handle life in baseball of all the aspects.
Why? Why would the Mets do this?
My guess is Cohen has so much money, he’s just playing with the roster for laughs…
He’s brought in Singleton, now he’s going to contact the estate of Abner Doubleday and add him to the ring of honor (posthumously), throw a bunch of money at Triple H to sign a one year ‘services’ contract, and bring in Homer Bailey to be a pitching consultant.
Then the Mets organization will have a cycle every night!
Warm bodies. Roster filler.
Singleton i dont get as you have a ton of 1b depth but goodrum i am not opposed to until you get back Mauricio or McNeil as right now middle infield depth has taken a hit with them out and madrigal gone for the season.
Flyby Sometimes a minor league signing is just that: a minor league signing and nothing more – not even a depth piece, AA has only ten position players. This signing will enable them to send JT Schwartz or one of the other AA talents currently on the AAA roster back to AA.
That said, I’m not sure where you see a “ton of depth” at 1B. What they have is a few marginal players, most of whom are unlikely to be successful. Having more of these types gives them the flexibility to call up whoever is swinging the hot bat at that moment. we hear managers and FO’s say it often when a player is called up, going back to when Terry Collins was still the manager. Fans like to see some sort of tiered depth chart where each and every player has a specific spot in the pecking order. but thats not how it really works.
Last year, Trayce Thompson was the presumptive fan choice to be the 1st OF called up if one was needed. but when the time cane, Ben Gamel was crushing it while Thompson was struggling, and Gamel got the call.
Mets have a ton of players that can play first with most having options and they will most likely be moving one of the corner outfielders to 1st which they have been trying. out.
Just from a versatility point they have Young, Meneses (some of), Williams ( can also relieve C), Schwartz, McKinney (OF just signed and younger with more experience), Ritter, and De los santos Many of those can play other positions and have option available which singleton does not and most are either before prime or in it which would be a higher chance of the hot hand.
Singleton offers no versatility no options and is the the oldest player on the the AAA squad and doesnt really add mlb experience since he only has 2 years of service time along with not really showing much upside and being older is less likely to give you a ton more.
Wow… what a list. You’ve totally missed my point, and made that point for me at the same time.
But back to your list: Meneses and Ritter are legitimate.
Young and Schwartz are s on the IL, and Schwartz is likely ticketed for DOUBLE-A when he gets activated.
After that, you get points for imagination. McKinney is purely an OF, cannot hit at all, and had zero power when he did hit. De Los Santos has used a 1B glove a time or two. But to call him up part of the depth at that position is, again, imaginative.
But all in all, you’ve basically proven my point: what you have is a handful of marginal players, all of whom are unlikely to be productive at the major league level. The person swinging the hot bat at the time is the one most likely to get called up. And it could be any of them.
That outweighs options and versatility in a short term injury situation. In case of a long term injury, none of them fills the bill and the Mets will probably go in another direction.
Young and Schwartz were not listed as IL anywhere so that i didnt know. Also schwartz already has a bunch of games at AAA last season so no guarantee he goes back down to AA unless they fill up spots with guys like Singleton.
McKinney played at few games at first last season and spent almost as much time in the minors with the Yankees at 1b as OF the year before so he has versatility if you bring him up also Singleton cant really hit either so thats a moot point. Santos falls into this same category as he didnt play much at 1st last season at all but the season before. he played a good amount again in the minors but he can play all if positions
Singleton really doesnt bring much to the table as a hitter or defense or even for experience and if you are betting on hot hand there are much better options that can play first. especially as a backup 1b / bench option. I would rather bring belt out if he wants to come back or make offer to Grandal as he can backup catcher now and has experience at 1st and was ok last season as hitter. Shoot i would more bet on Carpenter getting a hot hand than singleton and atleast providing some experience to the minor leaguers before singleton,
Schwartz and Young most certainly are listed on the IL – everyewhere. On the Syracuse roster page, on their individual player pages, and in the transactions.
The bottom line is that De Los Santos, McKinney, and Schwartz are all; absolute NON-entitites vis a vis major league consideration. Suggesting that they suck any less than Singleton is just imagination.
And Singleton, thee guy whom you claim cannot hit had a .707 OPS in the majors last season, and an OPS+ that was close to league average. Meneses’ OPS, on the other hand, was at .560ish. Not saying Singleton is better than Meneses or the other way around. I’m saying they’re all long shots at best. When you have an insufficient minor league system, you have to also look out for lightning in a bottle. You never know which bottle is going to catch the lightning, so you put a lot of bottles out.
Adding Singleton didn’t cost any players in trade, didn’t cost any money, didn’t force anyone deserving off of a roster, and won’t be taking playing time away from any prospects because there aren’t any prospect there to begin with. If a prospect does earn a move up and/or playing time, Singleton can be benched or released any time they want without any cost or loss to the team(s) or organization.
“Why would the Mets do this”…It’s called “system depth”. If the Mets suffer a bizarre string of injuries, would you rather they go to “Walmart” or “Home Depot” for ready and trained replacements?
Do not fret my friend acquiring lesser players for depth purposes is just another part of the game of baseball.
Rhys Hoskins
nah if the brewers move on from hoskins, they gonna have to move Bauers out the bullpen. Cant believe Bauers finished half their games already for the season so far.
@Fly Bauers has a better glove. It makes sense for him to be a defensive replenishment in close games.
@major
If you think Rhys is mid, you’re not a baseball fan.
Singleton had some good movies with boyz n the hood & Friday after next
Those guys couldn’t keep up with his smoking, took them to a whole different level.
Smith, as an MLB player, is garbage.
LOL Mets
LOL You
This is a singularly thin complement, even for organizational filler.
If the Mets ever get to the point of thinking they need Jon Singleton for a week I’d rather they hand someone like Jett Williams a 1Bman’s mitt and tell him, “have at it.”
Negative 1.1 bWAR, career, one of the worst fielders in the game, needed a BABIP 35 points higher than his career number just to slug .386 last year. Turning 33, he’s the answer to no conceivable Mets’ question.
As for Niko Goodrum, he’s 33 and hasn’t put up better than a negative bWAR since 2020. And Marte, having ‘high upside’? C’mon. His MINOR league whip is 1.466. His fluke 19 innings in MLB in 2024 included 6.5 K/9 with 4.7 BB/9, and it lowered his career FIP all the way to… 6.06.
This feels like a tranche from when Sandy Alderson stopped giving a damn.
You’re perspective is too narrowly focused on the Mets alone. The minor league rosters are a woefully deficient mess right now. Injuries to both NY and Syracuse led to three roster-filler talents from AA moving up to AAA. That leaves Bingo with only ten position players right now, not enough to start their season in two days. And there is no one [left] in A+ who is capable of moving up, even as temporary roster filler.
Signing these guys to Syracuse allows them to send the AA players back to AA Bing and fill that roster.
All of this screams to how deficient and lacking the minor league system still is on the position player side. Most of the talent are 18-20 year olds who are still struggling and a bit overmatched in A ball. There are a few promising players who were just drafted out of college last year.
If the younger players can make strides this year, while the college kids move up quickly, we could suddenly see a surplus of AA and A+ talent next year, but thats idealistic. In reality, we are still 3 to 4 years away from having a properly stocked minor league system with a steady pipeline of talent flowing up from level to level each year.
@geofft: JackStrawb is a Mets hater cosplaying as a Mets fan. He’s super negative towards literally any move they make. I would not take any of his criticisms seriously.
lot of sturm und drang for a trio of guys that are only getting MLB time if the measles outbreak comes to Queens. All of these are guys with high-minors and some MLB success, the perfect kind of guy to plug into the Syracuse lineup if you have to call up a guy as an injury replacement.
I’d rather have competent quad-A players filling out that lineup than rushing guys up a level before they’re ready just to plug a hole. And as it’s been said by others, the Mets are thin on position players in both Binghamton (literally only 3 infielders currently assigned to that level) and Brooklyn – getting guys like this will help bolster those lineups as well.
@DanzigInTheDark,
Ja, das ist richtig!
Wrong Jose Marte BBR link
RIP director John Singleton. Loved “Boyz in the Hood”!
I thought the entire lore surrounding Jon Singleton was that only the Astros wanted him.
His dealers also wanted him gainfully employed…
They call it “depth“. Warm bodies are needed in AAA in case of injury. Of all the sites to see a comment like this isn’t really surprising it’s just plain dumb.
It is always amazing. A couple of veterans who aren’t going to block any real prospects from playing time. But which top 10 position prospects are currently at Syracuse anyway? Gilbert is the only one I saw when I just looked at their roster. No Williams, no Mauricio, no Clifford… Gilbert is going to play 5-6 days a week, and neither Goodrum, Azocar, nor the injured Rafael Ortega are going to really stop that.
Exactly right. These signings are, in part, to augment a prospect-deficient roster.
The Mets traded nothing to get these guys, cut no one, paid no money, and, as you said, are not cutting anyone’s playing time.
not to mention that if a prospect were to move up and need playing time, any of these journeymen can be released without any thought or hesitation.
Amazing how such low-risk, minor league depth moves still bring out the haters and bozos to sound off about how they think these moves are the worst things they’ve ever seen.
It never fails – every season, way too people here obsess over the minor league roster filler. 90% of them won’t see the clubhouse in the majors this season. You need enough players to fill out a minor league system, and you need some that are somewhat capable. Hence, the AAAA players.
Yep. Also, if you look at Syracuse’s (AAA) roster, they need a few warm bodies until some of the younger kids (Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, Alex Ramirez, etc) are ready to come up from Binghamton (AA).
Teams need to stop recycling known mediocrity and instead bet on unknown upside.
Serious question. Could Barry bonds have a better slash line than Singleton in 600 MLB and right now? I’m guessing bonds could do 150/350/400
Singleton would be cleanup hitter in Pittsburgh with those stats
Depth and MiLB roster filler is fine. NYM AAA position player roster is largely devoid of prospects and being competitive there is good for development of Sproat, Tidwell and the arm prospects
Dan Vogelbach retired so they signed the next best thing
You stink, Deeds. “Meanwhile” has to start the sentence, not come in the middle between commas. And how many times can you say “however” in one article? Learn new words.