Mets sign Adrian Gonzalez to major league contract

The Mets have agreed to terms with free agent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, according to Bob Nightengale. The deal is reportedly a major league contract and comes on the heels of the rumored serious talks between the Mets and Gonzalez earlier in the evening. Since Gonzalez was released, the Mets need only pay him the major league minimum.

Once one of the game’s most feared hitters, Gonzalez has seen his production fall off dramatically the last two years. He’s coming off the worst season of his career, in which he struggled with back issues all season and hit just .242/.287/.355 in 71 games for the Dodgers. He mounted a career-worst 69 wRC+ and -1.1 fWAR, and he lost his starting job to Cody Bellinger early in the year.

This likely sets up Gonzalez to compete with Dominic Smith for the first base job in spring training. While the 35-year-old is probably not guaranteed anything, signing a major league deal will require the Mets to make space on the 40-man roster for him.