Mets trade L.J. Mazzilli to Yankees

The Mets and Yankees have struck a rare deal that will send longtime Mets minor league second baseman/outfielder L.J. Mazzilli to the Bronx for Yankees outfield prospect Kendall Coleman. The 27-year-old Mazzilli, son of former Met and Yankee outfielder and coach Lee Mazzilli, was drafted in 2013 as a fourth-rounder out of the University of Connecticut by the Mets.

Mazzilli had initial promise in his first years in professional baseball, hitting .278 and .301 in 2013 and 2014, respectively, primarily in Single-A. However, things took a turn for the worse after a 50-game suspension in 2015 for violating minor league baseball’s drug policy with two positive tests. Since the suspension, Mazzilli never quite lived up to his potential, only cracking the Triple-A Las Vegas roster a handful of times and hitting .239 and .259 in 2016 and 2017 between Double-A Binghamton and Vegas.

The 22-year-old Coleman, also a 2013 draft pick, chosen by the Yankees in the 11th round, has never played beyond Single-A and has compiled a .207 AVG, .309 OBP, and .610 OPS for his minor league career. Drafted out of high school from Rockwall, Texas, Coleman figures to play somewhere in the Mets’ lower minors.

It is unlikely that either Mazzilli or Coleman will see big league action in 2018, if ever, as both have a lot to prove to their new organizations that they have the talent to reach the major league level.