Mets interested in infielder Ryan Goins

According to Joel Sherman, the Mets have expressed some interest in infielder Ryan Goins. Known for his defense, the 29-year-old was non-tendered by the Blue Jays earlier this month after hitting just .237/.286/.356 with nine home runs and 62 RBI for the club in 2017. When injuries struck the infield, the utility man received significant playing time last season and his overall numbers were not worth the $1.8 million he was projected to get in arbitration.

Primarily a middle infielder, Goins’s career north of the border has been offensively unimpressive. During five years in Toronto he batted just .228/.275/.335 with a .611 OPS, but became a fan favorite after he developed a reputation for hitting in the clutch. His defense regressed a bit last season but still could be seen as an upgrade at second over the in-house options the Mets currently have.

Goins could be seen as a cheap depth move for the Mets to help upgrade the defense. Late in the season Sandy Alderson seemed to change his tune about the importance of defense after acknowledging it was not a priority earlier in the season. The infield as a whole was woeful last year for the Mets, and their current options of T.J. Rivera, Wilmer Flores, and Gavin Cecchini are not known for their glove work.

Should the Mets sign Goins it should be purely for depth, and could not be feasibly seen as the solution at second base on a team that supposedly wants to contend in the near future.