Gary Sheffield Inks Deal with the Mets
April 3, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Baseball
In a bit of a surprise, the New York Mets have signed free agent slugger Gary Sheffield. After the Detroit Tigers released Sheffield, there were rumors linking Sheffield to various destinations. However, the Mets made a hard push for him on Friday and were able to convince Sheffield to join their club.
Gary Sheffield joins New York Mets (Image: Newscom)
The most interesting aspect of this transaction will be how the Mets find at-bats for Sheffield. In the past, he has said that he wouldn’t be happy with a reserve role. With the Mets, they could possibly mix him into the outfield rotation and also play him a little bit at first base.
Sheffield’s first home run for the Mets will be a significant one. With 499 homers, Sheffield needs just one more long ball to join the exclusive 500 club.
The Mets will be the eighth team of Sheffield’s career. He has previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and the Tigers.
Teams that were thought to be possible Sheffield destination were the Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.
