Ex-Mets players take pictures in strange uniforms, look strange in them

One of the best days of spring training is Picture Day, that day where all the baseball players smile for the camera in their new jerseys so that stadium jumbotrons, television program, and websites like ours have nice pictures to use. It's always great to see the new players on the team pictured in their new uniforms but there's always that strange moment when you catch a glimpse of former Mets players in new uniforms.

We decided we'd expedite that process for all of you and gathered pictures of players from last year's Mets team for you to enjoy. We'll start out with some players who have been in Mets uniforms for a long time, like...

Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

...aww, Daniel Murphy. This photo makes it look like somebody just told him the Nationals' Twitter account is going to make a terrible nickname for him. What could that nickname be? There are so many possibilities!

It's an odd sight to see Murphy in the Washington red and white, and it's even odder to see him wearing #20 after being so connected to 28 for such a long time. So does the annoying #ImWith28 hashtag just go away now? Or will Mets fans use it when Murphy strikes out and makes errors? It'll be interesting to see.

One thing we do know is that Mets fans won't be making any hashtags for...

Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

...Jon Niese, traded to the Pirates in December. That Pirates uniform actually looks quite good on him, though I think it looks good on almost everyone. The only way it could look better is if maybe he was wearing one of these babies.

Look, Niese had his moments with the Mets: he had a long stretch in 2012 where he looked like he was taking a major step forward. He hit that pinch hit triple against the Marlins late in that game in 2011. I'm struggling for more here but it let's just say it was time to move on. Mets fans will likely be very excited to see the lefty on the hill in this uniform.

Another pitcher Mets fans may enjoy seeing on the mound is...

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...Bobby Parnell, a member of the club since 2008 like Murphy and Niese. Before Lucas Duda was the under-appreciated player on the Mets' roster, Bobby Parnell long held that mantle. Say what you will about him but Parnell was a perfectly solid reliever from 2010-13, especially the last two years after Jason Isringhausen showed him the knuckle curve in 2011. The Parnell who returned in 2015 from Tommy John surgery was not close to that pitcher but the Parnell prior to that was good.

This is a kind of weird picture, mostly because he's smiling (that's rare from Bobby Parnell) and he's holding the baseball out in front of his face as if he found an Easter Egg or something. Not a very intimidating look, Bobby.

Next we move from one injured Mets pitcher to one who was "injured" *cough banished to Las Vegas cough* named...

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

...Dillon Gee. Fun fact: go look up the Mets' 2007 draft and you'll see that the top two performers in WAR from that draft are Lucas Duda at 5.8 WAR, and Gee at 4.3 WAR. Then look at the first, second, and third rounds of that draft and...OKAY WE'RE OUT OF TIME HERE.

Remember when Gee had that crazy long beard/goatee thing and that was a big story in Mets camp one spring training? Well, it appears to be kind of back this year, though a bit trimmed. Enjoy Kansas City, Dillon.

Speaking of crazy spring facial hair, we move to Milwaukee to visit...

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...Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who had one hell of a wild ride in 2015. He was terrible, then he was an Angel, then he was a 51, then he was like Babe Ruth for a couple of weeks, then he disappeared after the Mets got Cespedes and Conforto, and then he finally defeated Jonathan Papelbon like Omir Santos and Jordany Valdespin before him. Now he's a Brewer!

The worst part of Kirk wearing this silly Brewers uniform now is that we won't get to hear stories about his incredible high school football prowess. What a shame! We'll always have that time when he photobombed Jeremy Hefner.

Kirk's a muscular guy but what about the man with the chiseled physique and golden ass named...

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

...Anthony Recker! Okay, this is really strange to see for some reason but mostly because it's his face and not his glorious buns starring in the photo. Remember when Anthony pitched in that blowout against the Nationals a few years ago and gave up a majestic bomb to Ian Desmond? That was cool. How about his walk-off grand slam in the spring training finale last season? Yup, that was last year.

And his ass was a major part of all of it. Ass power! #AssofMLB

The Mets waved goodbye to a few longtime members of their roster, including...

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...Carlos Torres, who jumped ship signing a minor league deal with the Braves. He wasn't great last season but Torres was a workhorse and a very reliable arm out of the Mets' bullpen in 2013 and 2014. The Mets really didn't have a spot for him in their bullpen, say as the long man? Come on, Mets! Carlos could even be the team's pinch runner and designated hacky sack guy in the field.

I think we all know the real reason why Carlos was let go: he wanted #52 back and Yoenis Cespedes put the kibosh on that! That Braves uniform looks funny on Carlos but it also looks funny on...

Rob Carr/Getty Images

...Alex Torres??? Where's your hat? How long does it take to order those hats? I guess he hasn't gotten the Braves pads in yet.

What exactly was the idea for these pictures? "Okay guys, we just want you to toss the ball in the air and look off into the distance, maybe out towards the next time the Braves will compete in the NL East! Keep looking! A little further!"

Another reliever made his way to a team that appears a little closer to competing and that's...

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...Tyler Clippard, who sports his goggles and Diamondbacks funky blood-stained shoulders uniform. Why did the Diamondbacks add that pattern to their uniforms? Who came up with this idea and how were they not laughed out of the conference room? This picture looks weird but honestly, it's mostly the uniform. They're awful.

Now here's something that doesn't look weird, it's...

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly Johnson in a Braves uniform. Would you believe me if I told you this picture was from 2005? Well you shouldn't because it's from last week. This is old news, nothing weird here unlike...

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

...damn, this Diamondbacks uniform again! This is Tim Stauffer and he was a member of the Mets for about 5 minutes in 2015. Remember him? No? Nevertheless, he's on the Diamondbacks now. Moving on to...

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...Eric Young Jr, who is joining Kirk Nieuwenhuis in these silly Brewers uniforms. Look at that, two former football players in one Milwaukee outfield! How about that? My question here is why did EY get the extreme closeup treatment?

While we ponder that, we'll check out this picture of...

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...Darrell Ceciliani, who appears to have taken his photo in space given the dark black background. Is that where most Canadians take their pictures? Something else to ponder.

Not sent into space however is...

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Eric O'Flaherty, who was unbelievably bad for the Mets and now gets to parade around in that super sweet Pirates jersey. Nothing personal, Eric, but we don't miss you and that uniform looks great on you.

The photos aren't only limited to players! We also have pictures of...

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

...Bob Geren, coach of the bench and giver of the intense post-home run high five. This is a huge deal, who will give out the first high five after a Mets player hits a home run? Hopefully new bench coach Dick Scott is ready to assume this role because it's a large void.

A void that's nearly as big is the loss of...

Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images

...Paul DePodesta, who took on the "fun" job of trying to be the guy to turn around the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. This isn't really a strange picture because I think we're used to seeing DePodesta dressed like this.

Unfortunately, Mets fans will have to get used to the new dress of...

Elsa/Getty Images

...the Pepsi Porch, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.