Upgrading the bench can do a lot for a team. The Mets are hoping they have found such an upgrade in the 30-year-old, switch-hitting, utility infielder Jonathan Villar, who they signed in early February to a one-year, $3.55 million contact plus incentives.
The Mets will be Villar’s sixth team in his eight-year career in the big leagues. A breakout year with the Brewers in 2016 that included a league-leading 62 stolen bases elevated his status to that of an every day regular, and his best season since came in 2019 with the Orioles, when he played all 162 games, posting a 109 OPS+ and with 24 home runs and 40 stolen bases.