The Mets and MJ Melendez agreed to a one year, $1.5m deal (with $500k in incentives) in the twilight of the 2026 offseason, giving the Mets another option to fill out their bench, and giving Melendez a legitimate shot to open the 2026 season on a Major League roster. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic it is a split deal, meaning his salary differs depending on whether he is in the big leagues or in the minor leagues.
Melendez, now 27, spent his entire professional career up until now with the Kansas City Royals. The Daytona Beach, Florida native was drafted in the second round by the Royals in 2017, forgoing a commitment to Florida International University to turn pro. He eventually became one of the best prospects in the sport, earning Top 100 prospect status from Baseball Prospectus (#35), Baseball America (#42) and MLB Pipeline (#51) prior to the 2022 season, then as a catcher. He eventually made his debut in 2022, moving positions and converting to the corner outfield, where he has been a regular part of the Royals Major League roster, until last season.
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He never reached the heights he did as a prospect in the Majors, putting together three okay seasons at the plate (97 wRC+ in 2022, 93 wRC+ in 2023, 86 wRC+ in 2024) before falling off a cliff in 2025, hitting .083/.154/.167 (-14 wRC+) in 23 games before getting sent to Triple-A for the remainder of the season. He was non-tendered after the season, and became a free agent. He comes to the Mets a career 215/.297/.388 hitter, with 52 home runs in 435 games, good for an 88 wRC+.
The Mets were in clear need of someone who can handle the corner outfield, especially after the acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. and the continued presence of Tyrone Taylor (and, frankly, the likely debut of Carson Benge) leaving them completely covered in center field. They could also use someone who could hit left handed off the bench, as their roster became right-handed heavy over the course of the offseason.
For the Mets, Melendez represents a chance to get some pop off the bench, and a chance to recapture some of his former Top 100 prospect status that he had not too long ago. He also put together some roughly league average season as a Major Leaguer, and that is a welcome development from a bench player if they can get him back to that. He can serve as cover in the corner outfield, perhaps first base (again, according to Sammon), and will likely serve has the emergency catcher if he does make the roster. He will be a project for the new hitting apparatus of Jeff Albert and Troy Snitker. He also, according to FanGraphs, still has an option remaining, which still leaves David Stearns open to acquiring someone else for the role and stashing Melendez in Syracuse.
For Melendez, the Mets represent a competitive environment that has a pretty open bench spot, so the combination of being on a Major League roster on a good team on Opening Day is likely too good to pass up for him.