The New York Mets have announced the organization has signed OF DJ Stewart to a minor league deal. He has received a non-roster invite to spring training.
Stewart, 29, has played 195 games over five Major League seasons. In his career, he has hit .213/.327/.400 with 21 doubles, 26 homers, and 73 RBI.
He was the Baltimore Orioles first round pick (25th overall) in the 2015 draft out of Florida State University. He made his Major League debut in 2018 in what was Buck Showalter’s last year as manager.
Showalter was impressed with Stewart that season saying, “He’s a baseball player. He’s fun to watch.” (Mandy Bell, MLB.com). What stood out to Showalter was Stewart’s work ethic and how he stayed engaged in games.
The left-handed hitting outfielder has hit right-handed pitching much better posting a 105 wRC+ in his limited Major League duty. That’s against a 71 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
Stewart is patient at the plate and has an ability to get on base evidenced by his 13.2 BB%. This is somewhat offset by his 26.8 K%.
He has historically been a dead pull hitter with a low BABIP. Potentially, the new limitations on shifting could benefit him. He also does have power potential even if his historical exit velocities have averaged under 90 MPH in his career.
Stewart has historically been a poor outfielder relegated to the corners. Historically, he’s been most useful as a bat against right-handed pitching.
Stewart had an injury plagued 2022 season where he only saw three pinch hitting attempts for the Orioles. He’d appear in 34 Triple-A games where he posted a strong .879 OPS.
Of note, the Mets currently do not project to have a left-handed back-up outfielder. That said, it appears Stewart’s most likely destination to start the 2023 season will be with Triple-A Syracuse.
