Mets Sign RHP Jeff Stevens and IF/OF Corey Wimberly to Minor League Deals

To be frank, more Bisons fodder. But there is some major league upside for these guys, limited though it may be, so let's get to know them.

The 28-yr old Stevens is a live arm with a career 3.54 minor league ERA who's bounced around a bit in a couple of notable trades. After being drafted by the Reds in '05 as a sixth rounder out of Loyola Marymount, Stevens was the PTBNL in the notorious Brandon Phillips deal -- pretty much the only guy that didn't blow up for Cleveland in that one. A couple years late he was part of the package that netted the Indians Mark DeRosa from the North Side.

After some moderate success as a closer in the minors, he made a handful of appearances with the Cubs between '09 and '11 but nothing of note (see, 6.27 ERA). However, he possesses a very good, low-to-mid 90's fb and has always boasted good K-rates, but walks have been an issue.

Best case, we're looking at a cheap, yet moderately effective end of the bullpen arm with less than pinpoint command who can dial it up. In other words Brian Stokes.

Also a 28-yr old and drafted just five picks earlier than Stevens back in 2005, Corey Wimberly is an athletic, versatile former Rockies prospect who doesn't possess much power but does have a lot of speed. He features a .297 career minor league average with a batting title and stolen base title to his name but unfortunately he bottomed out last year, batting .238 with a .590 OPS and just 15 stolen bases in Triple-A.

Wimberly first made a name for himself by batting .381 in his pro debut after being drafted in the sixth round out of Alcorn St. He was ranked in the Rockies top 15 by John Sickels in '06 and '07, but he ultimately fell out of favor when his average invariably began to falter as he climbed the ladder and he didn't really have the secondary skills to remain a true prospect.

While he's shown signs of solid plate discipline, his value lies in the fact that he can capably handle pretty much any position outside of pitcher and catcher while providing excellent speed on the basepaths. In a perfect world he's a cheap, multi-faceted piece to have off the bench in the mold of a Jerry Hairston, with a little less power.