Mets sign Luke Voit to minor league deal with spring training invite
The Mets have signed slugger Luke Voit to a minor-league deal with a spring training invite.
SNY’s MLB Insider Andy Martino reported on Saturday night that the team was in talks with the power-hitting righty, and now that he's reported for camp, it appears the two sides have sealed the deal.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Voit said. “I had my foot in the door a little bit last year with the team. I got to play with some of these guys and played against a lot of them and I had Mendy [Carlos Mendoza] as a coach for four years in New York.
"It's a comfortable spot for me and I feel like I'm in a good spot physically and mentally. It took a little while to get things rolling, but I’m ready to rock and roll."
Voit began last season with the Milwaukee Brewers, but he was released after spending a month on the injured list and posting no homers and a .548 OPS through 22 games.
Upon reaching free agency, the slugger returned to the Big Apple and signed a minor league deal with the Mets.
Voit enjoyed a ton of success with Triple-A Syracuse, recording eight doubles, 15 homers, and a 1.035 OPS across 35 games but he decided to opt out of his deal after being passed up on a late-season call-up to the big leagues.
"It sucked," Voit said. "I didn’t know what else I needed to do. I understand at that point they wanted to play their young guys, so it’s a business, and that’s what a lot of other team said to me after I opted out.
"I got to be home with my family, so it was a little bit of a blessing, but I'm a baseball player and I want to be back on the diamond. The Mets came calling and I felt like this is an opportunity that I couldn't pass up on."
The 32-year-old now returns to the organization to provide some much-needed veteran depth behind Pete Alonso at first base and he should slot into the DH competition.
Along with Voit, the Mets also have power-hitting top prospect Mark Vientos, September riser DJ Stewart, and the recently signed Ji-Man Choi among others in the mix in camp.
With nothing set in stone at the moment, and the need for another big bat in this lineup, the veteran likes his chances of cracking the Opening Day roster.
"I feel really confident coming in," Voit said. "The talks I had with my agent and the front office, there's definitely the ability for me to make the team and to get a chance to play.
"I've had to win jobs before both in St. Louis and the Bronx, so I'm all for a competition, art the end of the day I just have to focus on myself and the end goal is to make the team."
